Bon Voyage Charlie Brown(And Don't Come Back!) 2: Return To Europe
by Animatic Psychopath
Summary: Charlie Brown,Snoopy,Freida,Rebecca,Ed and more of the PEANUTS gang are unexpectedly sent off to France yet again in the fall affer they are sent a mysterious letter in the mail urgently asking them to come over. Romance,freindship,adventure,danger,music,fun and an unfolding mystery are sure to come in this delightful sequel.
1. Chapter 1

**BON VOYAGE CHARLIE BROWN(AND DON'T COME BACK!) 2: RETURN TO EUROPE**

**CHAPTER 1: A MESSAGE FROM ACROSS THE SEA**

It was the middle of a dark and stormy night out in the wide and open countryside of France,Europe,while there was very little wind accompanying this rather violent storm,there was still a lot of heavy rain pouring down on the land along with thunder causing the ground to shake ever so slightly and some lightning that would light up the night sky. Way out in the depths of a small yet suitable home out in the middle of a small forest,there was what appeared to be a thin,cloaked figure sitting down at a candle lit desk and writing something down on a piece of paper with an ink pen,the figure was completely silent and didn't say a single word despite there being no one else in the house that could even hear her say anything. All she did was sit down at her desk and slowly write out what she had to say,and after about another minute of writing she seemed to have finally finished it as she set her pen aside and carefully slid the piece of paper into an envelope along with a few more other things that couldn't be seen due to the limited amount of light from the candle,making it clear that she had in fact written a letter.

Afterwards the figure then stood up and took the envelope outside into the rain to be greeted by the sight of what appeared to be a mail truck sitting near her mailbox as she slowly walked up to the driver's window and politely requested in her French accent while she handed the envelope to the driver "This needs to reach Sparkyville in America as soon as possible. It is urgent." to which the driver tipped his hat to the lady and promptly replied "You can count on us for the job madam,I will notify you when the letter has been shipped overseas,you are paying me extra for this extension of my day job after all." before he started his truck back up and drove off into the night. All the while the cloaked figure had since headed back into her house and hopefully said to herself as she sat the candle down on her bedside drawer and sat down on the edge of her bed "That letter has to make it to Sparkyville at all costs,I must see my son again after all this time."

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE LAND OF THE YANKS**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: THE AUTUMN FESTIVITIES**

Meanwhile hundreds and hundreds of miles across the sea and away from France in the state of Minnesota,Autumn had once again come around and showed its lovely little face down in Sparkyville and coated many of the trees with orange,red and yellow leaves along with a rather cool and calming breeze brushing along throughout the town,and it was also proving to be a very nice morning as well with a surprisingly clear sky and the perfect mixture of warm and cool air to boot. It only made sense that some people would have decided to take advantage of such a nice day,and one of these people was none other than Rebecca,who had actually decided to lay down in her backyard and look up at the sky,with Roger laying down on her chest and looking up with her as well.

"You know Roger,I get so caught up in my own life and school work sometimes that I forget that I can actually talk to and understand you,me being an animal whisperer and all." Rebecca sighed and happily stated as she and Roger stared up at the clear,blue sky to which the beagle shrugged his arms and nonchalantly retorted in response "Wouldn't be the first time honey." before the blonde chuckled and enthusiastically continued "Oh I'm so excited for my date with Ed tonight Roger,and what a nice day to actually have it on."

"What's so different this time? Usually you're more calm about your dates with Ed." Roger raised an eyebrow and questioned out of curiosity as he rolled over to look his owner in the face to which Rebecca promptly explained herself while she scratched her dog's ear "It's because we're gonna be part of a quadruple date tonight,it's gonna be me, Ed, Charlie Brown, Freida, Linus, Eudora, Sally, Michael and a lot more of the other kids at this fancy restaurant downtown,and we'll all head to Ace's afterwards. And I heard that even Snoopy and Gracie are finally going on a date,it's about time those two puppers hooked up if you ask me." before Roger groaned and bitterly agreed with his owner "Oh tell me about it,me, Andy, Olaf and Herman had to do SO much just to convince him to ask her out."

"Oh yeah and it's also Ed's birthday today." Rebecca suddenly perked up and happily continued after she had remembered that it was her boyfriend's birthday as Roger softly gasped and exclaimed in response "What?! No way!" to which Rebecca nodded her head and continued much more calmly "Yeah it is,and he hasn't been around a calendar for quite a while and doesn't really keep track of dates very well,so he actually doesn't even know that it's his birthday,so I'm gonna have a surprise for him tonight." before the beagle sighed and bittersweetly remarked while he rolled back over "Well I just hope you all have fun,I sure could use some tonight."

"Well I'm sure that Snoopy's brothers and Herman will be doing something tonight,maybe they'll even show up anyway since those guys will never pass up on some food." Rebecca sat up and politely tried to cheer up a clearly jealous Roger as she now held him in her arms which prompted the beagle to grow a slightly uplifted smile on his face before his owner happily stated while a cool breeze brushed right past her "Man do I love fall,sometimes I just wish that things could stay like this,although I do realize that they can't. But still,wouldn't that be nice?"

_**Rebecca:**_

_Yes the wind blows a little bit colder._

_And we're all getting older._

_And the clouds are moving on with every Autumn breeze._

_Peter Pumpkin just became fertilize._

_**Roger:**_

_And my leaf's a little sadder and wiser._

_**Rebecca:**_

_That's why I rely on certain certainties. _

_Yes,some things never change._

_Like the feeling of your paw in mine._

_Some things stay the same._

_**Rebecca And Roger:**_

_Like how we get along just fine._

_**Rebecca:**_

_Like an old stone wall that'll never fall._

_Some things are always true._

_Some things never change._

_Like how I'm holding on tight to you._

Meanwhile Charlie Brown, Linus, Michael, Franklin, Scheroder, Skylar, Snoopy and more of the boys with the exception of Ed were at a jewelry store downtown and each picking out a special ring for them to give to their girlfriend's that night,while Andy, Olaf, Woodstock and a trench coat disguised Herman helping out their clearly nervous brother/friend.

_**Linus:**_

_The leaves are already falling._

_**Snoopy:**_

_Guys it feels like the future is calling._

_(Snoopy shows his brothers a diamond encrusted dog collar.)_

_**Olaf:**_

_Are you telling us tonight you're gonna get down on one knee?_

_**Snoopy:**_

_Yep but I'm really bad at planning these things out._

_Like candle light and pulling of rings out._

_**Herman:**_

_Maybe you should leave all the romantic stuff to me._

_**Andy:**_

_Yeah right!_

_(Charlie Brown pulls out and looks at his locket picture of him and Freida.)_

_**Charlie Brown:**_

_Yeah some things never change._

_Like the love that I feel for her._

_Some things stay the same. _

_Like how beagles are easier._

_But since I'll commit,and I'll go for it,I'll know what to say and do._

_Right?_

_**Herman:**_

_Some things never change._

_**Andy:**_

_Bro the pressure is all on you._

However while Charlie Brown and the rest of the boys were busy preparing for their dates,Ed on the other hand was standing out on the front porch of his cabin in Monte Woods and looking out into the eastern sky with an odd look of uncertainty and worry on his face.

_**Ed:**_

_The winds are restless._

_Could that be why I'm hearing this call?_

_Is something coming?_

_I'm not sure I want things to change at all._

_These days are precious._

_Can't let them slip away._

_I can't freeze this moment._

_But I can still go out and seize this day._

As the end of the day shortly but surely came,it was finally time for everyone's dates to commence as Snoopy began picking them all up in his limo,with Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Roger and Herman indeed accompanying them as emotional support and even just for the fun of it. All of the boys were wearing more formal outfits compared to usual as were the girls,and they consisted of Charlie Brown, Freida, Linus, Eudora, Sally, Michael, Lucy, Scheroder, Franklin, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, Franco, Violet, Shermy, Patty Swanson, Ox, Skylar, Claudia, Rattler, Thibault, Cobra, Dominick, Ed, Rebecca, and Jose and Dolores. Not to mention that even Snoopy now sported a tall top hat along with a black bow tie as he started to drive everyone to their destination,much to Gracie's surprise to an extent.

_**Everyone:**_

_The wind blows a little bit colder._

_**Franklin:**_

_And we all look a little bit older. _

_**Freida:**_

_It's time to count our blessings-_

_**Charlie Brown And Freida:**_

_beneath an Autumn sky._

_**Everyone:**_

_We'll always live in the kingdom of plenty._

_That stands for the good of the many._

_**Peppermint Patty:**_

_And I promise you the flag of Sparkyville will always fly._

_**Lucy,Sally,Violet And Marcie:**_

_Our flag will always fly._

_**Boys:**_

_Our flag will always fly._

_**Girls:**_

_Our flag will always fly._

_**Everyone:**_

_Some things never change._

_Turn around and the time has flown._

_Some things stay the same._

_Though the future remains unknown._

_May our good luck last._

_May our past be past._

_Time's moving fast it's true._

_Some things never change._

_(Snoopy pulls up to their destination and let's everyone out.)_

_**Charlie Brown And Freida:**_

_And I'm holding on tight to you._

_**Sally And Michael:**_

_Holding on tight to you._

_**Franklin And Marcie:**_

_Holding on tight to you._

_**Lucy And Schroeder:**_

_Holding on tight to you._

_**Ed And Rebecca:**_

_I'm holding on tight to you._

After all of the kids had piled on out of the limo and headed on inside,Snoopy then took off in a flash so he and Gracie could have their very special date at their destination of choice. It was pretty clear that everyone was gonna be in for a rather joyful night,with Ed being unaware that he had actually just been sent a letter in his mailbox,his first ever in Sparkyville to be exact.

**NEXT CHAPTER: BIRTHDAY SURPRISES **

"**Some Things Never Change." **Written By Kristen Anderson-Lopez And Robert Lopez

©️Walt Disney Music Company.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: KARAOKE AT ACE'S**

Everyone's dates went by exactly as good and worthwhile as they had hoped they would be,all the kids had a great time at the fancy restaurant they went to and even Snoopy and Gracie had a lovely little date of their own at an even fancier place closer to the edge of town,with Andy, Olaf, Roger, Herman and Woodstock joining them from the sidelines. Not to mention that the boys did a great job surprising their girlfriends with the rings they had bought earlier along with Snoopy giving Gracie a diamond encouraged collar. However in Ed and Rebecca's case there was still the matter of the latter surprising the former with a birthday present of some sort,and that was because the blonde was gonna deliver the surprise over at Ace's due to a recent new addition to the place they added during the reconstruction.

Everyone had long since gotten their ice cream and sat down at a couple of tables as Charlie Brown happily told Freida while she looked down at her ring "It was actually not too hard looking for rings today,all we had to do was pick the best looking one's available." to which Franklin nodded his head and agreed with the round headed boy while he glanced over at Gracie wearing her new collar "Definitely,although I'm surprised that Snoopy managed to find such a nice looking collar for Gracie."

"Snoopy always finds a way to get what he wants." Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and playfully retorted in response as he took a look at his dog building himself a massive stack of an ice cream cone before Claudia smiled and happily remarked "W-well I think that's o-one of his best traits C-Charlie." to which Gracie nodded her head and blissfully agreed with her owner _"It really is." _

"Well gang,I say that this has been a rather interesting night when it comes to us dating." Linus cleared his throat and calmly announced to the kids as Eudora couldn't help but agree with her boyfriend "I agree,usually the highest we can go when it comes to multiple people going on a date is a double,not practically all of us at the same time." to which Cobra shrugged her shoulders and retorted while she and Dominick each had a root beer float "I think it helps that we all had literally nothing to do tonight,we had to do something."

"Yeah,otherwise I could be subjected to the horrors of reality TV at home since nothing else I like is probably on right now." Ox nodded his head and happily agreed in response before Patty Swanson sighed and disappointedly added "Mmm-hmm,it makes me wonder what Ashlynn,James and Christine are doing since they're still single and didn't want to come. I kinda wish they would have come along for the sake of it." to which Ed confidently guessed a reason why they didn't show up afterwards "My guess is that Ashlynn wants to wait till she can find a girl because she's not into boys,James is too busy with stuff at the theater and Christine just speaks for herself."

"Well you did end up introducing her proper to me and Charlie the other day didn't you?" Freida politely asked in response with a raised eyebrow as Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow as well and promptly added in agreement "Yeah we were studying at my house and she decided to properly meet us since she lost a bet with you." to which Ed nodded his head and firmly confirmed that they were right "Yeah she did,but I guess she wants to take her time when it comes to meeting all of us. I mean she did JUST move into that new house not too long ago and has gotten pretty shy over the years from what I can tell."

"I guess her not having many friends at the orphanage after Ashlynn was adopted had that effect on her. I think some of us may know that feeling too well." Marcie sighed and calmly guessed a possible reason why Christine wasn't very social at all as she glanced over at Charlie Brown and Claudia before Freida took a deep breath and tried to look on the bright side of things "Well I guess that just means she'll warm up to us eventually,I mean she does seem to be pretty comfortable around Charlie and me after we met her and all." to which Lucy chuckled and playfully joked in response "To think that Charlie Brown has come so far these last years that a new girl is pretty comfortable around him,that's some true character development right there." making the other kids and even Charlie Brown lightly laugh at the joke.

Meanwhile Snoopy, Gracie, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Roger and a still trenchcoat disguised Herman were having some ice cream at a small table of their own as Snoopy politely asked the wolf out of curiosity _"So Herman,how did you like your first ever bowl of ice cream?" _to which the wolf happily replied after he had licked his entire bowl clean _"Wow,that is some good stuff right there. I've been missing out big time." _before Olaf stated with a small yet very noticeable grin _"Oh you ain't tasted nothing yet till we get you a Joe's burger." _

"_Come what now?" _Herman raised an eyebrow and confusingly asked out of curiosity as Andy chuckled and metaphorically answered the wolf's question _"Let's just say that the only people who don't like a Joe's burger have either never had one." _before Roger nonchalantly interrupted the beagle and continued _"Or they're just a liar." _to which he, Andy, Olaf, Woodstock, Snoopy and Gracie gave each other a big high five in agreement,making Herman calmly state with a dropped jaw _"Crap I gotta have a Joe's burger now." _

"_Tomorrow,we're gonna go get you one." _Snoopy looked Herman dead in the eyes and sternly reassured him in response to which the wolf grew a small smile and gave the beagle a high five of his own before the animals headed off to get even more ice cream while the kids continued to chat at their tables. It was at this point that Rebecca felt that it was time to kick off Ed's birthday surprise as she leaned in closer to Peppermint Patty and whispered in excitement "Okay,I'm gonna do it now." to which the tomboy grew a small smile and happily whispered in response while she patted Rebecca on the back "Alright girl,you got this." before the blonde nodded her head and headed off to the jukebox.

Ed was actually pretty quick to notice this sudden behavior from Rebecca as he lightly chuckled and announced to the others out of a slight sense of dread "Looks like Rebecca's about to put on some tunes,let's pray that it's not Walking On Sunshine because you all know how I feel about that overplayed song." to which the voice of his girlfriend suddenly responded out of what sounded like a microphone "Oh it won't be sweetie,because this is a special song just for you,birthday boy." making the rest of the kids start whispering to each other in excitement since Rebecca had indeed told them about her plan.

Ed was certainly left a little confused by this sudden response from Rebecca as he raised an eyebrow and asked himself while he turned his head towards the jukebox to see her holding a microphone and putting on a song "Birthday boy? It's my birthday? I didn't know that!" to which Rebecca nodded her head and happily confirmed that his suspicions were right "Yes it is sweetie,and I wanted to surprise you tonight with a special song just for you,and all the other couples too." making Ed blush intensely and the rest of the couples hold each other's hands.

_**Rebecca:**_

_I saw you there,so beautiful._

_You stopped and stared,so magical._

_Then you ask me for my name._

_And we took an uptown train._

_Before you leave,get up to go,I wanna know._

_Do you like Shakespeare? _

_Jeff Buckley?_

_Watching movies on Sunday?_

_Do you like kissin'?_

_When it's rainin'?_

_Makin' faces in the station?_

_Do you like?_

_I need to know._

_What do you like?_

_Before you go._

_You walk me home,so wonderful._

_It starts to snow,it's incredible._

_Now we're walkin' up my street._

_And you slowly turn to me._

_You're three inches from my lips._

_But before we do this._

_Do you like Shakespeare?_

_Jeff Buckley?_

_Watchin' movies on Sunday?_

_Do you like kissin'?_

_When it's rainin'? _

_Makin' faces in the station?_

_Do you like?_

_I need to know._

_What do you like?_

_Before you go._

_Oh,oh._

_Show me the place where you come from._

_And the places you dream of._

_I wanna know everything you are._

_But before we get that far._

_What do you like?_

_I need to know._

_What do you like?_

_Before you go._

_Do you like Shakespeare?_

_(Jeff Buckley?)_

_Yeah,yeah,yeah._

_(Watchin' movies on Sunday?)_

_Just you and me on Sunday?_

_(Do you like kissin'?_

_(When it's rainin?)_

_Oh,oh._

_(Making faces in the station?)_

_Cause I like Shakesphere._

_(Jeff Buckley.)_

_(Watchin' movies on Sunday.)_

_Yeah,yeah._

_(Kissin' when it's rainin'.)_

_Yeah._

_(Makin' faces in the station.)_

_Do you like?_

_Yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah._

It was at this point that the entire shop and its customers started applauding after Rebecca had finished her song,and all Ed could even do was take off his hat and start tearing up at the seems as Rebecca walked towards him and happily stated while she gave him a kiss on the cheek "Happy Birthday Ed." making him blush even more than before. Also while Snoopy and his brothers were applauding as well along with Herman and Woodstock,Gracie suddenly licked him on the cheek and made his ears stick straight up as steam poured out of them,making the rest of the beagles quietly giggle at the display while Herman rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe it Freida,she's almost as good as you." Charlie Brown chuckled and happily stated as he gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek to which she nodded her head and couldn't help but agree in response "Same here sweetie." before she gave Charlie Brown a hug and went back to enjoying their ice cream with the rest of the kids.

**NEXT CHAPTER: A LETTER IN THE MAIL**

"**Shakesphere." **Written By Jason Brett Levine and Susan Flores Cagle.

©️Sony Music Entertainment.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: A LETTER ADDRESSED TO WHO?**

After Snoopy had dropped off everyone back at their homes including Gracie,Woodstock and his brothers,all he had to do was drop off Ed and Herman at their cabin in Monte Woods as he pulled up his limo and let the two of them out to which the wolf gave the beagle a high five while the hermit scratched his ear and happily thanked him for the ride "Thanks for the ride Snoopy,my feet are just far too tired for me to walk all the way home." before the beagle gave an "ok" sign and drove off,leaving only Ed and Herman in sight as the two of them started to make their way inside.

"Oh man am I tired Herman,I need nothing short of a nap." Ed stretched out his arms and stated out of pure exhaustion before Herman nodded his head and nonchalantly agreed in response "That goes double for me,it took us forever to look for a collar for Gracie and I can bet that she's only gonna wear that thing on dates." to which the hermit lightly chuckled and joked "Well it is nice to see that everyone else caught up to me in terms of getting jewelry for their girlfriend's."

"Ok then ego maniac." Herman scoffed and playfully retorted in response before he suddenly noticed that the mailbox had it's door open in his peripheral vision as he raised an eyebrow and brought attention to it "Hey look,the mailbox is open." to which Ed turned his head around to look at the mailbox and added in agreement while he stepped down the stairs and made his way toward it "Oh yeah it is,what's up with that?"

"I dunno." Herman shook his head and confirmed that he didn't know anything about it while Ed looked inside his mailbox to see what looked like a single envelope laying down inside as the boy perked up and enthusiastically remarked while he took it out "Hey check this out,my first ever letter." to which the wolf softly gasped and added equally as excited "Really?! Oh you better get inside and read that thing!"

"I am! Come on let's see who decided to write to me." Ed laughed and cheerfully retorted in response as he barged right inside and flopped down on the couch,with Herman quickly joining him afterwards before the hermit happily stated while he looked at the envelope "Man I can't believe I've actually gotten one of these,there's my name,my current address here in Sparkyville and-" only for the boy to suddenly stop his rambling when he noticed something else about the envelope as Herman raised an eyebrow and confronted him about it "What is it?"

"There's no return address on this thing." Ed promptly explained himself with a hint of uneasiness in his voice as a clearly confused Herman asked out of ignorance "Return address?" to which Ed politely replied while he began to cautiously open the envelope "Yeah,they're supposed to tell people where things they get in the mail come from and where they can go to return it,but there isn't one here." before Herman grabbed the envelope and guessed while he examined it and Ed started to unfold the letter "Maybe whoever sent you this didn't want anyone to find out where they are."

"Yeah and that's usually a bad sign there buddy,but who in the world would want to hurt me besides Mrs Hampton? And even then that witch is locked up in jail." Ed nodded his head and cautiously added in agreement before he took a long,hard look at the letter to see what it said,but as he continued to read it,he started to develop a clear look of confusion on his face as he meekly stated "Uh…...Herman I don't think I can read this." to which Herman asked equally as confused as a result "What? Why not?"

"Maybe the fact that I can't understand this language. The only thing I can understand is my own name at the beginning." Ed firmly explained his reasoning for not being able to read the letter as he shoved it right in Herman's face to reveal that the letter was indeed written in what looked like another language to which the wolf raised an eyebrow and started sniffing the letter for about a few moments before he calmly announced "Well I can certainly tell from the scent of this thing that it was written all the way in France from what I can tell."

"France? Well I guess that covers the language then,but who the heck is in France and wants to know about me? It can't be like a pen-pal or anything like that because I don't even go to school. How in the world am I gonna read this?" Ed softly gasped and dumbfoundedly retorted in response as he began glancing over at the letter again before he suddenly perked up and wondered while he started putting the letter back in the envelope "Wait a second,Marcie's a smart girl,maybe tomorrow I can see if she can help. Even if she can't read French,she'll probably be able to tell me where I can get it translated."

"I hope you're right because if not you won't stop going on and on about it." Herman yawned and hopefully stated as he jumped off the couch and crawled up on Ed's bed to which the boy followed afterwards and confidently retorted while he hung up his hat on a coat wringer "It's a big,big town out there buddy,I'm pretty sure I'll be able to sort out this mess,find out whoever's writing to me and see what they want. After all,maybe it could be something good in the end." before the hermit got in his bed and headed off to sleep for the night,with the intent to figure out what the letter meant the day after.

**NEXT CHAPTER: MARCIE THE FRENCH**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: MARCIE THE TRANSLATOR**

When the next day eventually came after a long and cool Autumn night,Ed was walking up to the front steps of Marcie's house with the envelope in one of his pockets. He was going over to her house to see if she could help him understand the letter he had received in the mail due to it being written in French oddly enough,wether or not she was gonna translate it herself or tell him a way he could get it translated was irrelevant,all he cared about was figuring out what it said due to his curiosity.

After Ed knocked on the front door and patiently waited about ten seconds for an answer,the front door slowly opened up to reveal none other than Marcie herself as she politely greeted the boy "Hey Ed,what brings you here?" before the boy happily greeted the girl back "Hi Marcie,uh do you think I could talk to you about something inside? It's kinda important." to which the girl noticed the boy anxiously fiddling around with something in his pocket and obliged to let the boy in "Sure thing Ed,come on in."

"Thanks." Ed smiled and politely thanked Marcie as he stepped inside her house and followed her into the den to be greeted by the sight of Charlie Brown, Freida, Linus, Eudora, Peppermint Patty, Franco and Franklin lollygagging around to which the boy got a surprised look on his face and cheerfully greeted them all "Oh hey guys,I wasn't expecting to see y'all here." before Marcie promptly explained themselves while she sat down on the couch "We have a group project to do for school and since it's Saturday we decided to get it done ahead of time before Monday morning."

"Yeah so we can hopefully not get any homework for Thanksgiving break next week." Peppermint Patty nodded her head and hopefully added before Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and politely corrected the tomboy "Patty even if we do get homework for the break,it IS just optional after all." to which the tomboy scoffed and firmly retorted while she lay down on her back and looked up at the ceiling "But Chuck if we do get homework,I'll just feel obligated to do it all since I've been doing better in everything lately. I can't just let that stuff stand by during my break,but I also don't want to have to feel obligated to do it by not getting any."

"She's really been focused on work lately and wants break." Franco sighed and calmly explained Patty's predicament to Ed as the hermit nonchalantly retorted in response "I've noticed." before Franklin politely suggested while he helped Patty get off the floor "You know it would help if you just shred it the minute you get home." to which the tomboy immediately lit up with excitement and happily agreed to that idea "You know what? That's exactly what I'll do then."

"And to save money on electricity you might as well feed it to the beagles." Linus chuckled and playfully joked in response before Eudora lightly chuckled at the joke while Freida asked Ed out of curiosity "So what are you doing here Ed? It can't be for the project since you don't go to school." to which the hermit took a deep breath and explained himself while he took the envelope out of his pocket "And you would be right Freida. You see after Snoopy dropped me off at the cabin last night,I saw that I got a letter in the mail,however I can't exactly read it because it looks like it's in French."

"French?" Charlie Brown,Freida and Peppermint Patty gasped in unison at the revelation while Linus and Marcie raised an eyebrow at the mention before Eudora pondered out of curiosity "French? Didn't some of y'all go to France many years ago?" to which Charlie Brown nodded his head and calmly confirmed that they did "Yeah we did Eudora,and a few of us actually went for a very short visit during the summer Rebecca first moved here. But if we're talking about a full on trip,yeah that was a LONG time ago."

"And I have a feeling that info will be outdated very shortly." Linus placed a hand on his chin and retorted with a clear sense of intrigue in his voice before Ed handed Marcie the envelope and politely asked "Marcie,I came over here so I could see if you could help me translate this thing,is there anywhere I can go to get it translated?" to which the brunette nonchalantly offered instead "I can read it for you if you want. I'm pretty fluent in French."

"Woah,really?" Ed softly gasped and asked in response to the surprise before Peppermint Patty nodded her head and confidently backed her friend's claim up "Yeah she was able to perfectly translate the letter Chuck got before our first trip. Go on Marcie,see what Ed got in the mail." to which Marcie promptly nodded her head,took out the letter,straightened out her glasses and began reading it while everyone was on the edge of their seats.

"Mon cher Edward,

Je n'aurais jamais pensé pouvoir vous parler après tout ce temps. Cependant,il semble que j'ai découvert que vous êtes bien vivant à Sparkyville. Vous ne savez pas à quel point cela me rend heureux après vous laissé dans cet orphelinat. Si vous lisez ceci j'aimerais beaucoup que vous veniez au Château d'Harmonie en France pour que nous puissions enfin nous revoir.

Cordialement,tu es une mère aimante."

"What did it say?" Ed anxiously asked after Marcie had finished reading the letter to which she took a look at the letter once again and translated it "My Dear Edward,I never thought I could talk to you after all this time. However,it seems that I discovered that you are alive and well in Sparkyville. You do not know how happy that makes me after leaving you at that orphanage. If you read this,I would very much like you to come to the Château Of Harmony in France so that we can finally see each other again. Your Kindest Regards,Your Loving Mother."

It was at this point that everyone was left completely baffled after hearing Marcie translate the letter as Charlie Brown dumbfoundedly wondered "Ed…..do you know what this means?" to which Freida added equally as bewildered and confused "Ed I don't know how to say this,but I think you just got a letter from-" only for Ed to interrupt her and exclaim out of complete and utter shock "MY MOM?!" making the rest of the kids glance at each other with looks of concern on their faces,because a massive bombshell had just been dropped.

**NEXT CHAPTER: HIDDEN TRUTHS**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6: PERSONAL FEVER**

After Ed had figured out that the letter he got was apparently from his mother thanks to Marcie's help,it was safe to say that he and even some of the others were feeling very confused and unversed,and they soon decided to head over to Joe's for a bite to eat in an attempt to bring some leeway to the situation,but even then that didn't stop Ed from practically turning into a nervous wreck as he was anxiously shaking and sweating over at their table while he frantically stated "No,no,no,no this doesn't make any sense. This has to be a prank or something! Oh why is it so hot in here I feel like I'm gonna be sick!" before he took a long sip of his water and tried to cool himself off with some napkins to which Peppermint Patty quietly whispered to Franco "Man this kid's completely lost it." to which the German boy meekly nodded his head in agreement.

"Look Ed,I think you should try to calm down a little." Freida respectfully suggested in response to the display she and the others were looking at to which the hermit sighed and timidly tried to explain himself "I'm trying here Freida,but I can't stop thinking about all the red flags here. M-my parents died in a fire shortly after my mom dropped me off at the orphanage,their bodies were found,given a funeral and were buried at the cemetery like anyone else would. But now it looks like my mom is SUDDENLY writing a letter to me from France like NOTHING ever happened. I can't calm down even if I wanted to." before Charlie Brown politely tried to cheer the boy up while he gave him a paper bag to breath into "Ed I…..I know this is probably a big thing for you right now,why maybe it could even be a GOOD thing. If this letter is indeed from your mother,then that means she is still alive and you can finally meet her soon and…..maybe find out the real reason why she and your dad had to give you up."

It was at this point that Ed's breathing and overall mood had finally subsided down to a more reasonable crawl as he put the paper bag aside and retorted much more calm and down to earth "Yeah…..I guess that is a good point,but even then there are so many things that don't add up because TWO bodies were still found at the scene of the fire,and they were both identified to be a man and a woman. They have to be my parents because that's what makes sense,but suddenly this letter comes around and…...oh good lord this is giving me a headache!" before he opened up the envelope and tried to look at the letter again only for him to stop dead in his tracks when he noticed something else inside it.

"What is it now?" Franklin sighed and asked with a slight sense of dread in his voice to which Ed promptly explained himself while he pulled out what looked like a stack of plane tickets "There's something else is the envelope,it looks like I got some plane tickets to London. I guess I was so caught up in the letter that I never noticed these." before Franklin remarked out of a sense of intrigue while Ed handed Charlie Brown the tickets "It sounds like whoever wrote the letter wants you and your friends to come over too. And to be honest it doesn't sound like that bad of an idea."

"You read my mind right there Franklin,if things don't get too suspicious I wouldn't mind heading over to France again." Peppermint Patty lightly chuckled and happily agreed with her friend before Linus nodded his head and agreed as well "You got me right there,I'll never pass up on a trip to France,it's like tradition at this point." to which Eudora grabbed one of the plane tickets and enthusiastically added "Me too,I've always wanted to go to France. We can go next week since we won't have any school and be back in time for Thanksgiving."

"That's a good point Eudora,seems like the perfect time to go." Marcie nodded her head and couldn't help but agree with Eudora's idea to which Charlie Brown happily announced after he took a look at all the tickets "Yeah I guess you're right,and it looks like there are fourteen tickets here in total,that's more than enough for us right here and just leaves five more out in the open. I'm sure we'll be able to find someone to take these other five before the week is over." before Ed scoffed and sarcastically retorted in response "Yeah let's just go all the way to France next week and meet up with this mysterious woman who claims to be my mother,that's not gonna backfire at all."

"Honestly I think all we can do right now is just take this at face value and go from there,because there is still a chance that this could actually be your mom Ed." Charlie Brown respectfully tried to convince Ed to go along with the idea while he started passing the tickets around the table to which the boy sighed and meekly declined the offer "Look I…..I just really need some time to think about this whole thing,and even then I just wanna take a little bit of a break from traveling right now. I think I may just stay home,you guys can go and have fun but…..no this just seems too suspicious and draining for my liking right now." before Freida slid him one of the tickets and politely suggested "Well I guess there's no stopping you Ed,but I think you should at least keep one of the tickets just in case. A lot can change in a week."

As Ed looked down at the plane ticket and had all sorts of thoughts about the situation enter his mind,he slowly began to develop a little bit of a smile as he grabbed the ticket and cautiously obliged while he began to head outside "All right,but I'm still very suspicious about all this. If y'all need me I'll be at the library,I got some serious research to do about that fire and see if anything turns up." to which Charlie Brown and the rest of the kids waved him goodbye.

Once Ed had left the cafe and allowed the rest of the kids to look over their newly acquired plane tickets,Peppermint Patty laughed and happily remarked as she put her ticket in her pocket "Man can y'all believe this? We're going to France again!" to which Freida nodded her head and added just as excited "I know,this is gonna be lots of fun,especially with a certain someone who will be there with me." before she glanced at Charlie Brown and blew him a kiss,making him blush a little while he cheerfully agreed with his girlfriend "You said it Freida,I just wonder who's gonna want to take these last five tickets we got."

"I think we'll be able to pass them off at school." Franklin shrugged his arms and calmly suggested in response as Marcie put away her ticket and agreed with the boy "That sounds like a good idea Franklin,although I already have two people in mind who may want to come with us with us." to which Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and playfully retorted "Same here,especially since she didn't come last time and would really hate to he snubbed." before Linus rolled his eyes and jokingly wondered "Why do I already know who you're thinking about?" making the rest of the group lightly laugh at the joke.

**NEXT CHAPTER: ARCHEOLOGY,THY NAME IS ED**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7: PREPPING UP**

After the kids had finished their meals at Joe's and while Ed was doing himself some research over at the library,they all decided to head on home for the day and finish up their school project another time since they had a lot of preparing to do for their trip. Granted they were gonna be going the week after the coming one and had more than enough time to get themselves ready,but they still felt like getting all of that stuff out of the way so they wouldn't have to worry about it later on down the line. After Charlie Brown bid Freida goodbye with a kiss on the cheek,he entered his backyard to see Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Roger, and Herman playing a game of cards and betting on a stack of cookies and bones as he walked past them and bid them the news "Hey you guys,guess what? I've decided to leave town and head over to France again next week. Like last time if you want to come along Snoopy,you better get yourself ready,and perhaps the rest of y'all could come along too if you want to." before he headed on inside and left the animals outside to immediately start getting themselves ready.

Once Charlie Brown headed inside and made his way towards the living room,he saw that Sally and Michael were sitting down and watching some TV together as he walked towards them and asked "Hey Sally,do you remember the time where I went over to France for a student exchange program?" to which the blonde girl nodded her head and nonchalantly confirmed that she did "Yes I do big brother,why are you asking?" before Charlie Brown took out two tickets that he had kept and offered "Well it turns out that I'm gonna be going again next week,and I was wondering if you and Michael would like to come along since you didn't come last time."

Sally and Michael then turned around to see Charlie Brown holding two plane tickets in his hand as the former immediately grabbed one and enthusiastically took him up on the offer "Really?! Of course I want to go big brother! What about you Michael?" only for the boy to shake his head and politely decline the offer "Actually you can go without me Sally,you see I'm more than likely gonna need to stay home and help my parents out with Thanksgiving preparations. But don't worry,I'll be right over here waiting for you to come back." to which Sally developed a little bit of a saddened and disappointed frown for a few moments before she forced a smile on her face and meekly tried to think positively "Well….I guess it won't be the WORST thing in the world being separated from you for a week. Hopefully."

"Well I guess that covers one of the tickets,only four more to dish out before next week." Charlie Brown sighed and stated with a slight sense of worry in his voice as he left Sally and Michael alone to watch TV and headed towards the house phone before he picked it up and began making a call,and after about ten more seconds of waiting,someone finally seemed to picked up the phone as the round headed boy greeted the person he had called "Hey Claudia,it's Charles,would you mind if me and you talk about something?"

Later on in the day while the sun was slowly beginning to set,Claudia was busy packing some of her stuff up in her room as Krissy walked by and happily stated "I bet you're very excited to be going to France next week." to which Claudia nodded her head and enthusiastically confirmed that she was "I-I am Krissy,I-I've never been to F-France before. I d-don't want to pass up o-on a chance like t-this. A-Also Skylar,G-Gracie and more o-of the others are g-gonna be coming t-too."

"Well I just hope you do a good job taking care of yourself over there." Krissy sighed and hopefully stated as she playfully ruffled some of Claudia's pigtails before she walked off to do other things while Gracie walked into the room and sat down next to her owner to which Claudia happily remarked "I-I'm very excited to b-be going to France next week. I-It's been a while ever since I've done any t-traveling,I just hope that E-Ed can sort out that issue he's been h-having with that l-letter he got. Who k-knows how anxious h-he must be f-feeling?"

*"Dark Caverns" From Octopath Traveler Starts To Play.*

Speaking of which,while Claudia and more of the kids were busy packing up and getting their things ready for the trip,Ed was still over at the library and anxiously doing any kind of research he could muster up about the fire that supposedly killed both his parents. The library was mostly dark and empty due to nighttime setting in and many of the guests leaving for the day,all except for Ed however who was cooped up at the very back and going through multiple history books that covered the fire,with a cup of coffee on standby and the light of a candle being the only other items he had. The boy went through every single book he could find in the hopes of finding any sort of new information about the fire that could help make the letter make any sort of sense,but alas every one he had read contained the same information that he had previously known,it was getting to the point where he had made a massive stack of books he had gone through along with there being another stack of books he HADN'T read yet.

Eventually this crusade of Ed's bled on into the night even after the library had closed up for the day,with the boy thankfully being able to hide from the security guards and their patrol so he could continue his research after they had left. Unfortunately it seemed that the boy was having no luck at all and that exhaustion was finally beginning to set in,even the cup of coffee he had earlier wasn't appearing to be helping at all,and eventually the boy finally passed out on the table due to him getting so tired due to a lack of sleep,with two massive stacks of history books still being on standby.

*Music Stops.*

**NEXT CHAPTER: A LEAD?!**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8: THE LAST TICKETS**

Lucy,Rattler and Cobra were walking throughout the park the next day and discussing whatever came to their mind,Charlie Brown and the others had since told everyone else the news about their sudden trip along with Ed's psychotic episode regarding his mother's alleged letter. They were also trying to see who would like to take the last two tickets they had and join them on their trip,but alas it seemed that most of the other kids already had other plans for the week and didn't feel like changing them around for the sake of a trip that came out of left field,that is with the exception of one who gladly took up the offer.

"You sure are lucky that you picked out one of those tickets when you could Lucy." Cobra happily remarked for her friend deciding to go on the trip as Rattler nodded her head and added in agreement "Yeah you'd have to be nuts not to go on a trip like that,even Andy's going on the trip with his brothers and that wolf of Ed's too. I just wonder how they'll get him on the plane." before Lucy rolled her eyes and tried to undermine the whole thing "Come on girls it's not that big of an accomplishment,I just think I had a good case of taking advantage of the situation,besides it's not like I even went last time."

"Yeah I guess that makes sense,but what about Scheroder is he going?" Cobra shrugged her arms and couldn't help but agree with Lucy's statement to which the typically crabby girl shook her head and confirmed that he wasn't "Nah,he said he had a lot of music practice to do over here and couldn't switch around his schedule so soon. I wish he could have come along of course,but I'm still not gonna pass up a chance to go to France,not in a million years." before Rattler hung her head down a little and wondered "I'm wondering if Ed's even gonna be going,I heard he went to the library yesterday after he got that letter and no one had seen him for the rest of the day or night."

"Freida said he's holding onto one of the tickets just in case he changes his mind,but at the moment it seems like he's not going. Perfect opportunity for one of y'all to snatch it up if you ask me." Lucy nonchalantly explained the whole situation regarding Ed and wether or not he was going as the girls sat down on a bench only for Rattler to politely decline the offer "Oh no,I got plans with Thibault for Thanksgiving,same with Cobra and Dominick." before Lucy rolled her eyes and playfully retorted "Well someone is gonna have to take that last ticket soon,because Charlie Brown's going all over town trying to find someone to take it."

Speaking of which actually,Charlie Brown was walking down the city streets and heading towards the community theater,like Lucy had mentioned he was going around town trying to find someone to take the last ticket and go to France with them,but he wasn't having any luck with anyone aside from Lucy. However he hadn't given up hope yet and decided to go see James and see if he wanted to come,that being the reason he was going to the community theater.

After Charlie Brown opened the front doors and entered the auditorium,he was immediately greeted by the sight of James coaching some costumed kids for what looked liked practice of some sort as he slowly headed towards the stage and politely called out "James? It's Charles,can I talk to you?" to which the boy turned around and looked down to see the round headed boy looking up at him before he happily obliged "Oh hey Charles,nice to see you. Uh ten minute break everyone,I have matters to attend to with a friend of mine." which resulted in the kids disbanding to go on a break while Charlie Brown joined James up on the stage.

"So,what brings you around here Charles? I haven't seen you come to the theater ever since the whole Christmas fiasco." James politely asked out of a sense of curiosity as Charlie Brown took out the last plane ticket and cut to the chase "Me and some of the others are gonna be going over to France next week to possibly meet Ed's long lost mother don't ask it's very complicated,the only problem is that we have an extra ticket on standby and we don't want it to go to waste. Would you like to take it?" only for James to brush away the ticket and decline the offer "Sorry Charles,I'd love to go over to Europe but I sadly have a lot of work to do over here at the theater. You see my father has been getting slightly more involved with the theater business as of late and has managed to get a whole bunch of famous broadway shows to perform right here in Sparkyville in a few weeks. If I didn't have all this rehearsal to be doing AND coaching,I'd be more than happy to go over to France with y'all."

"Rats! I can't seem to find anyone else who wants this ticket but doesn't have plans for next week." Charlie Brown hung his head and groaned out of pure frustration before James sighed and tried to lighten up the boy's mood "Oh come on Charles I'm sure you'll be able to find someone." to which Charlie Brown lifted his head back up and somberly retorted "But I've literally gone through almost everyone I know who didn't take the ticket aside from Lucy,Skylar,Sally and Claudia. Scheroder has a bunch music stuff to do. Rattler,Cobra,Michael and Dominick all have plans for Thanksgiving. Michael also has to stay home and help his parents with the preparations,and everyone else just mostly doesn't want to go right now."

However it was right then and there that James seemed to have gotten another possible candidate in mind as he lightly perked up and calmly asked out of curiosity "What about Rebecca?" to which Charlie Brown immediately stopped his rambling and took out his cellphone with the intent to call Rebecca and see if she wanted to come along. Honestly he was actually dumbfounded and even a little embarrassed that he hadn't even bothered to check up with her yet after all this time,but if it meant that he could finally be rid of the last ticket and have everyone rounded up for the trip,that was all that mattered.

**NEXT CHAPTER: INFO BOMB**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9: INFO DROP**

Ed was still laying face down at the library after he had passed out the night before due to exhaustion and a very noticeable lack of sleep. He had been trying endlessly to find any sort of new information he could about the fire that supposedly killed both his parents in whatever history books he could find,but everywhere he looked he just found the same old stuff he already knew and didn't find anything that could have helped the letter make a little more sense from a logical point of view. After about a few more minutes Ed would suddenly be awoken when someone patted him on the back while a familiar voice called out "Ed? Ed? Ed wake up." to which the boy slowly started to feel himself awaken while he lifted his head up to see Rebecca sitting down in a chair across from him as he happily greeted her with a yawn "Oh hey babe,what are you doing over here?"

"I heard about the letter you got yesterday,and also the trip to France. No one saw you at all yesterday." Rebecca sighed and somberly let Ed know she had known about the mess regarding the letter before the boy nonchalantly retorted while he went back to looking through the history books he had taken out "Yeah,you don't need to apologize for me if you were going to. All I know is that I'm not going on that trip until I find something that can convince me that my mom is still alive,and not just a letter from France that claims it's from her." to which Rebecca grew a little bit of a smile and calmly announced in response "Well I just wanted to say that I took the last ticket from Charlie Brown and that I'll be going with them,and Roger's also coming too."

"That's awesome babe,I hope you all have fun on your trip. Maybe I'll show up late if I can just find something that can point to my mom still being alive." Ed perked up and enthusiastically replied as he continued to look through his books before Rebecca suddenly slid her phone up to him and politely offered while Ed redirected his attention over to the phone "Well if that's the way you're feeling right now,I think I may have something that can help." to which the hermit picked up the phone to see that there was an article about the fire and a section called "Theories About Deaths."

"Theories About Deaths? What does that mean?" Ed raised an eyebrow and questioned out of a slight sense of confusion as Rebecca promptly explained what the section was while the boy began to read it "I was looking up some stuff about the fire online and came across this article,it said that there was something off about the female body they found that could be what you're looking for. I just thought it was something interesting." and as Ed continued to read the section and the article,he slowly began to develop a huge look of intrigue that soon warped into a big smile as he ecstatically read out "The man was easily identified to be Howard Fitzherbert while the woman was unable to be properly identified. However due to the man's wife not being able to be found by the authorities and her family members,she was eventually assumed to be the woman killed in the fire and was buried alongside him."

It was at this point that Ed had all the answers he needed as he gave Rebecca back her phone and happily stated "Oh my god this makes perfect sense now babe! The woman who died in the fire was not my mom after all and was just someone else who was in the house. Whoever it was,we'll probably find out later,but this means that my mom is still alive and in France!" only for the boy to be interrupted when the entirety of the library shushed him due to how loud he was being before Rebecca quietly asked "So does this mean you're gonna be going to France?"

"Of course I am Rebecca,my mom is alive in France and I can't keep her waiting like this. Count me in." Ed nodded his head and happily confirmed that he was as he and Rebecca got out of their chairs and began to head outside before the blonde gave him a hug and enthusiastically wondered once they got outside "Isn't this great sweetie? You're finally gonna meet your mom! I don't know why she's in France of all places,but better there than nowhere at all." to which the hermit lightly chuckled and replied "I know,it's crazy. I never thought I'd ever get to meet her,but now so much has changed in just a matter of mere minutes."

Afterwards Rebecca let go of her boyfriend and happily announced while she took out her phone "Well I'm gonna go tell the others that you're going,it's gonna be me, you, Charlie Brown, Freida, Sally, Lucy, Linus, Eudora, Peppermint Patty, Franco, Marcie, Franklin, Claudia, Skylar, Snoopy, Woodstock, Gracie, Roger, Andy, Olaf and Herman." to which Ed got a look of excitement on his face and enthusiastically remarked "Oooh,it sounds like we got a full house here,and despite how many places I've gone to over the years,I've never actually been to Europe before. I guess my break's gonna end sooner than I thought." before the two kids looked up at the sky and to the east.

_**Ed:**_

_We're gonna go down that path and over the rise._

_**Rebecca:**_

_Guess we'll discover just where your destiny lies._

_**Ed:**_

_Who cares how dark it'll be? _

_Cause I've got you-_

_**Rebecca:**_

_You've got me._

_**Both:**_

_So let's go see where this whole thing's going._

_Next stop anywhere._

_**Rebecca:**_

_Headin' where you're supposed to be with you close to me._

_**Both:**_

_Next stop anywhere._

_**Ed:**_

_Facing every jeopardy linked inseparably._

_**Both:**_

_Next stop anywhere._

_**Rebecca:**_

_Though it may get rough for us-_

_**Ed:**_

_We're enough for us._

_**Both:**_

_Next stop anywhere._

_**Rebecca:**_

_And the world is waiting._

_**Ed:**_

_I feel it waiting._

_**Rebecca:**_

_With new adventures to share._

_Everywhere._

_**Ed:**_

_Everywhere._

_**Both:**_

_Everywhere._

As the weekend came to a close and the next school week came on by,the kids and animals who were going to France spent all of their free time preparing for their trip and were all very excited in the process. Even Ed who was originally very reluctant to go to France in the first place was singing a different tune now that he was more confident that his mom was still alive. And of course like before,Snoopy ended up packing way too much and when confronted by his owner about it,he only ended up tossing away a single golf club and left it at that. They were all gonna be leaving Friday morning since there was gonna be no school that day,and they were very excited for their sudden yet imminent vacation.

_Can't seem to get my mind off of you._

_Back here at home there's nothin' to do. _

_Oooh. Now that I'm away._

_I wish I'd stayed._

_Tomorrow's a day of mine that you won't be in._

_When you looked at me I should have run._

_But it thought it was just for fun._

_I see I was wrong._

_And I'm not so strong._

_I should have known all along that time would tell._

_A week without you._

_Thought I'd forget._

_Two weeks without you and I still haven't gotten over you yet._

_Vacation,all I ever wanted._

_Vacation,had to get away._

_Vacation,meant to be spent alone._

_Vacation,all I ever wanted._

_Vacation,had to get away._

_Vacation,meant to be spent alone._

_A week without you._

_Thought I'd forget._

_Two weeks without you and I still haven't gotten over you yet._

_Vacation,all I ever wanted._

_Vacation,had to get away._

_Vacation,meant to be spent alone._

_Vacation,all I ever wanted._

_Vacation,had to get away._

_Vacation,meant to be spent alone._

_Vacation,all I ever wanted._

_Vacation,had to get away._

_Vacation,meant to be spent alone._

**NEXT CHAPTER: DEPARTURE.**

"**Next Stop Anywhere." **Written By Alan Menken And Glenn Slater.

**©️**Walt Disney Music Company.

"**Vacation." **Written By Charlotte Caffey,Jane Wiedlin And Kathy Valentine.

Performed By The Go-Go's.

©️UMG Recordings,Inc.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10: BON VOYAGE CHARLIE BROWN! AGAIN!**

When the school week finally came to a close and everyone was let out for Thanksgiving break,the kids all headed over to the airport the very next morning so they could see each other off for their trip. Everyone was there and accounted for and all of their luggage was being boarded onto the plane as the kids were just about to head out,all the while Snoopy was playing a little tune on his mouthpiece along with Herman once again being disguised in a trench coat and hat so he wouldn't be discovered as a wolf and thrown out.

"I can't believe I'm actually getting to go to France,it's about time I got the chance to go to another country." Sally ecstatically remarked out of a sense of relief and excitement as she and some of the other kids looked out a window to see the numerous amount of planes outside before Michael happily replied while he gave his girlfriend a hug "I know,I hope you all have fun over there. See you in a week Sally."

"I'm just glad that we don't have to leave any of the tickets to go to waste anymore." Charlie Brown gave a sigh of relief and happily stated as he briefly glanced at everyone who was going on the trip before Ed playfully retorted while he took out his letter "Well I was gonna be staying behind and probably give it to someone else before I found out that my mother could actually still be alive." to which Violet surprisingly showed some sympathy for the hermit "Ed,you may be a very weird kid,but I do hope you're able to find your mother."

"Same here. You go out there and find her Eddo." Ashlynn gave a thumbs up and happily agreed with Violet's statement to which Christine lightly nodded her head in agreement before Peppermint Patty glanced over at Ed and firmly added with a balled up fist "Seriously Ed,I full well know what it's like to not have a mother just like you,so I'm serious when I say that you better find her while we're over there." which prompted Ed to give a salute and confidently reassure the kids "Don't worry gang,I WILL find her,even if it takes the entire trip to do so."

"This reminds me of that one summer where we all had to go find Rebecca,huh Charlie Brown?" Linus lightly chuckled and brought up some similarities to the time they all went to look for Rebecca as the round headed boy couldn't help but agree with the comparison "I can see you thinking that Linus,I just hope Ed's mom isn't being locked up somewhere by a crazy villain." before Rebecca nonchalantly added in response "Or is being manipulated by them to think that they're just protecting them. I definitely can tell when someone is just lying through their teeth."

Meanwhile Ox and Rattler were busy saying goodbye to Andy and Olaf for the time being as the former happily stated while he scratched his dog's ear "Okay Olaf,I hope you and your brothers have fun in France. I am gonna miss using you as a pillow though. See you latter buddy." before he and the beagle gave each other a brief hug while Rattler cautiously told her dog "Don't get into too much trouble over there Andy,especially when it comes to getting that wolf of Ed's around places. I'll see you at Thanksgiving." which prompted the shaggy beagle to give a salute like Snoopy typically would,followed up by a brief hug of his own.

"Oh yeah,I forgot to tell y'all this." Charlie Brown suddenly perked up and frantically announced out of nowhere before he continued a little more calm and collected "Trevor gave me a call last night and he said that he was gonna be doing a concert over in France the night before we come back that we're invited to for free,and he also said that he was gonna catch our flight and come back home for Thanksgiving." to which Freida happily stated in response to the sudden announcement "Really? Oh that's great sweetie,and that also means Snoopy and his brothers can see Spike again for a while." making Snoopy, Andy and Olaf cheer in excitement.

"Wow,it looks like we have a lot to look forward to." Franklin softly gasped and remarked out of a slight sense of excitement to which Marcie couldn't help but agree with her boyfriend "Yeah we do,and that's not even taking into account the other stuff we can do since we don't have to worry about going to school." before James walked up to Charlie Brown and politely asked "Hey Charles,while you are in London would you mind taking a few pictures to bring home? It would be nice for me to be able to see pictures of my home country/city that aren't from the internet."

"Sure thing James. We were gonna be taking a lot of pictures anyway." Charlie Brown nodded his head and happily obliged to do so as he shook hands with the British boy before Claudia raised an eyebrow and politely wondered "Y-you know James w-with how much m-money your father has in the b-bank,why don't you see if h-he could get you a t-ticket and y-you could come with us?" only for James to shake his head and politely decline the idea "No thank you Claudia,I have a lot of work to get done over at the theater and if I didn't have to do all that rehearsal and coaching for the upcoming shows,I'd be more than happy to come along."

"Well at least we know the shows will probably be good." Skylar chucked and jokingly retorted in response before Lucy nodded her head and somewhat mockingly agreed in response "Yeah they probably will be,just not as good as they could be with me at the helm of them." to which Linus rolled his eyes at his sister's egotism before the kids were suddenly interrupted by the intercom announcing "Last call for flight 1125. Last call for flight 1125."

"Well that sounds like it's our cue to go. We'll see you all in a week." Charlie Brown sighed and calmly stated in response before Lucy gave Schroeder a hug and bid him farewell "I'm gonna really miss you Scheroder,but it won't be too long before I'll be back. I'll make sure to keep up with you on video chat." to which the blonde nodded his head and happily replied "All right then,it's a deal. See you all at Thanksgiving."

"Keep yourself safe Claudia,it's a big,big world out there,I don't know what I'd do if something bad happened to you." Krissy cautiously said her goodbyes to her sister while she gave her a hug of her own before Claudia confidently reassured her that she'd be alright "I'll b-be fine Krissy. I g-got everyone right h-here to look a-after me along with S-Skylar and G-Gracie." to which her boyfriend and dog nodded their heads in agreement.

"See you soon Andy,and remember what I told you." Rattler happily requested as she gave Andy one last hug as did Ox and Olaf before they joined Snoopy, Gracie, Roger and Herman with the rest of the kids while they headed off to the boarding area,and once the kids were far away enough from the others,the latter group bid the travelers one last farewell by happily shouting in unison "BON VOYAGE CHARLIE BROWN! AGAIN! AND DON'T COME BACK!" and pretty soon the travelers were out of their sight and the rest of the kids started to head back to their homes.

The kids went through the same basic protocols that they did the last time they went,Snoopy, Andy Olaf, Gracie and Roger accidentally set off the alarm on the metal scanner due to their collars and had to take them off and go through it again,and Woodstock was still terrified of the people mover on the floor and ended up riding on the rails instead. However one thing that was a major surprise to all the kids was that unlike last time,when they presented their tickets to the conductor and boarded the plane,they were actually able to join Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger and Herman up in the first class area,whoever had sent them their tickets from France was certainly looking out for them.

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE OPEN SKIES**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11: THE SKIES OF THE WORLD**

A little while after everyone had finally boarded the plane and gotten themselves comfortable in their first class seats,they were soon on their way to London and would be reaching it's airport the very next morning,where they would head over to the Cliffs Of Dover and hitch a ride to France on a hovercraft like the previous time,however that was all a plan they were gonna talk about another time since the kids were about to have themselves a little meal. Now even though Snoopy and Woodstock were long used to first class seating and dining on airplanes at this point,his brothers, Herman, Gracie, Roger and the rest of the kids especially were just experiencing this luxury for the very first time and were blown away by some of its upgrades. Their seats were no longer hard and rough with barely any cushioning,they had much better AC and leg room to boot,and they were all able to eat something that didn't taste like stale bread or microwaved peas.

"_Look at all this stuff we can get guys,we really hit the jackpot with this flight." _Andy happily exclaimed with pure delight as he and Olaf began marking down everything they could find on their menus to which Snoopy raised an eyebrow and wondered out of slight confusion _"Have y'all never been on an airplane before? Let alone first class?" _which prompted his two brothers to frantically shake their heads in response while the more round beagle retorted _"Everytime we had to travel before it was either by foot or someone on the road who felt sorry for us. We once tried to call a bunch of people to send us a limo but all we got on the other ends were people that thought we were doing pranks calls and was telling us to stop calling them." _

"_Oof,well I hope y'all enjoy this flight and the one back home then because these things are usually quite long." _Snoopy cringed and sympathetically stated in response as he went back to marking whatever he wanted off his menu before Roger lightly chuckled and joked _"Well that's a very good thing then if you ask me,because then I'm gonna be almost as big as Olaf when we're done with all this food." _to which Gracie rolled her eyes and hopefully wondered _"I just wonder if they got take out."_

Meanwhile Charlie Brown and the rest of the kids were sitting five rows behind the animals and were already eating their meals since they weren't marking everything off on the menu like their pets/friends were as Peppermint Patty calmly remarked while she stabbed a piece of sausage with a fork "If you're all wondering why I got sausage of all things,it's because we're gonna need to adapt while we're in France,and I want to get a head start so I'm used to it." to which Marcie jokingly retorted in response "I thought you already would have gotten used to it during our trip to Germany sir,and Franco's homecoming to Sparkyville just speaks for itself."

"Okay then I just wanted some sausage." Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes and somewhat sternly defended herself and reasoning before Franklin chuckled and playfully retorted "You know Patty I don't think you of all people need to be defending your dining choices considering that Ed over there took his coffee completely black with no sugar or cream at all." to which Skylar nodded his head and dumbfoundedly agreed with the kid "He's right you know,at least with me I can't really take my coffee with lots of sugar or cream for obvious reasons. You have all the freedom you want when it comes to that stuff." which prompted the hermit to nonchalantly explain himself from his window seat "I'm far too used to roughing it to the point that I don't want to get too comfortable with society's luxuries aside from my cabin and a few other things."

"Ed I highly doubt that the numerous years of you living on the fat of the land are gonna be outdone by a few little sugar cubes. That's like trying to have the fall of Rome be caused by a pack of rats." Lucy scoffed and somewhat mockingly retorted in response before she took a sip of her own coffee while Franco tossed the hermit a sugar packet and tried to lighten up his attitude "Come on mein freund,you are on vacation,treat yourself and have fun." to which Ed rolled his eyes and reluctantly obliged before Linus enthusiastically remarked "So I took a look at our flight schedule,and it looks like we're supposed to be reaching London sometime after sunrise tomorrow."

"Oh I can't wait to see some of the sights they got there before we get on the train." Freida happily stated out of excitement while she looked at some of the tourist attractions on her phone before Charlie Brown nodded his head and added in agreement "And that's not even taking into account the fact that we still get to go to Paris,since that's where Trevor's concert is gonna be. Not to mention that London has likely changed a lot ever since our first trip." to which Lucy happily sighed and blissfully remarked "You know,even though the point of this whole trip is to see what's up with Ed's mother,we got a lot of neat bonuses to look forward to as well."

"I know,I've never been to Paris before,let alone France!" Sally nodded her head and ecstatically agreed in response to which Claudia happily retorted while she started putting in her earbuds "I d-dont think any of u-us have been to P-Paris before the m-more that I think a-about it." before Skylar grew a little bit of a smile and confidently stated "Well you can at least count on me and Marcie when it comes to understanding and translating the French. Granted I'm not SUPER fluent in the French,but I can at least get past the bare essentials." which prompted Marcie to nonchalantly retort "I guess that means we can take turns then."

"I just hope we have a similar amount of luck understanding the British,our interactions with James notwithstanding." Franklin sighed and hopefully stated in response before their conversation was interrupted by one of the flight attendants announcing on the speaker "Ladies and gentlemen,in the front and rear section,the film "Laughing Bunnies 2: Electric Boogaloo." will be shown in a few moments,while "Citizen Kane." will be playing in the middle section." to which Peppermint Patty gave a sigh of relief and lamented while she and the others put their headphones on "Wow we sure got lucky with the choice of our movie didn't we? We don't need to be watching that little kids stuff."

However just as the lights dimmed a little and the movie began playing,Charlie Brown's eyes suddenly widened out of nowhere as he turned towards the others and meekly asked "Wait,yall dont think?" before Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy and Olaf's obnoxious laughter from up ahead began ringing throughout the entire plane after their own movie started,making the kids and the rest of the passengers very annoyed in the process. The beagles were finding all of the nonsensical and chaotic slapstick involving the rabbits on screen absolutely hilarious and they were unable to remotely control themselves,even Roger, Gracie and Herman found the movie a little funny and amusing since they were lightly snickering and laughing to themselves,but nowhere near to the same extent that their friends were,and unlike the previous time there was no little girl behind them that could shut them up with a smack on the head.

**NEXT CHAPTER: ADVENTURING IN DREAMLAND **


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12: THE FLIGHT OF THE BLOCKHEADS**

The sun was slowly beginning to set and many of the passengers on the plane were starting to head off to sleep for the night and quiet down,including Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Roger, Gracie and Herman too,and the same could also be said for most of the kids as well since Linus, Eudora, Patty, Franco, Sally, Lucy, Marcie, Franklin, Claudia and Skylar were already enveloped into a deep sleep. The only ones who were still up and about were Charlie Brown, Freida, Rebecca and Ed,due to them still getting themselves comfortable with their seats and pillows while the hermit on the other hand merely looked at his letter since he didn't have anything better to do.

"So we're gonna be reaching London tomorrow,I can't believe I'm gonna be in Europe for the first time." Remarked an excited and cheerful Freida as she leaned her seat back and looked up at the ceiling before Charlie Brown nodded his head and happily agreed "I know,London is a great place to look around in from what I remember,if we got time we can look around Big Ben if you want." to which Rebecca immediately agreed with the idea in response "Oh that would be great if you ask me,what about you Ed?"

"Huh? Oh yeah sure we can do that." Ed lifted his head up from the letter and nonchalantly agreed with the idea despite him clearly not even listening to the conversation which caused Rebecca to raise an eyebrow and state with a slight bit of concern in her voice "You know babe,I don't think we need to worry about that letter until we get to France. I just think you could unwind a little and have a little bit of fun until then." to which Charlie Brown turned towards the hermit and politely agree "She's right Ed,we had a lot of fun in England last time and the student exchange program wasn't even a blip on our radar until we made it to France."

It was at this point that Ed started to grow a little bit of smile as he admitted while he put away the letter "Yeah,I guess y'all are right. It's just that this is still a lot to take in if you ask me." before Freida sat up a little and retorted "Oh we get that,we really do,we just want to make sure that you have fun on this trip. It was YOUR mother that sent you the tickets after all." to which the hermit lightly chuckled and reassured them "Oh don't worry,I'm gonna make sure I have the time of my life here,and since I've never been to Europe before,you bet I want to have some fun over there." making the three kids smile a little before Rebecca wondered "You know that makes me wonder,what are you gonna do when you find her?"

"What do you mean?" Freida raised an eyebrow and questioned in response to which the blonde nonchalantly clarified "I mean what is he gonna do when he finds his mother? Is he gonna stay with her?" which resulted in the hermit immediately shutting down that idea "What? No way! You guys mean the world to me,aside from Ashlynn, Christine, Herman and my crew,you're all the only friends I've ever had. I'm not giving all that up,even if it is for my mum." making Rebecca happily swoon while she gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek "Well that's good to know sweetie."

"It's funny,that's just what Scheroder said when we were leaving Hawaii,about us meaning so much to him and not wanting to give that up." Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and brought up the similarity of the situation before he leaned his seat back and announced while he shut his eyes "Well I'm gonna turn in for the night. See y'all in London." to which Freida happily followed afterwards as she gripped her boyfriends hand,but just before Rebecca followed suit as well,she glanced over at her boyfriend and happily whispered into his ears "It's probably because I full well know what not having parents feels like,but I can't wait for you to find your mom. Goodnight sweetie."

"Goodnight to you too. I'll catch up with y'all in a bit." Ed smiled and gleefully replied as Rebecca leaned her seat back and headed off to sleep with everyone else while the hermit merely looked out his window and saw the orange and yellow clouds that were passing by for about a minute before he fell asleep as well.

_I know there's someone._

_Somewhere._

_Someone who's sure to find me soon._

_After the rainbows._

_There are rainbows._

_I'll find my rainbow soon._

_Soon it won't be just pretend._

_Soon a happy ending._

_Love can you hear me?_

_If you're near me._

_Sing your song._

_Sure and strong and soon._

"Whoa! Hey look at us we're flying! Ed wake up!" The voice of Peppermint Patty suddenly rang throughout Ed's ears out of nowhere as he promptly opened up his tired eyes to see that Patty, Franco, Charlie Brown, Freida, Linus, Eudora, Sally, Lucy, Claudia, Skylar, Franklin, Marcie, Snoopy, Woodstock, Roger, Gracie, Andy, Olaf and Herman were all hovering in an ocean of clouds admits a bright blue sky,much to his shock as he gasped and questioned out of shock "What the heck?! When did this happen?!" to which Linus calmly tried to explain the oddity "I think something like this can only be happening because we're dreaming here,and that we all happen to have the exact same dream too."

"How in the world does that work?" Ed raised an eyebrow and questioned Linus's odd conclusion about what was going on to which Sally rolled her eyes and tried to brush the overall reasoning aside "Oh why does it matter how we're doing this? We're flying! We can go and do whatever we want here!" before she jumped up and down on a nearby cloud like it was a trampoline,making Ed ultimately give up at trying to find an explanation for all this as he shrugged his arms and stated while he jumped up and down on the same cloud that Sally was on "Oh what the heck? If you can't beat em,join em!"

"Hold on,what are we all doing just floating and jumping here? Let's do some exploring out there gang!" Peppermint Patty scoffed at the display and ecstatically suggested before Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger and Herman suddenly came passing by on his red doghouse with a sail at the top of it which Marcie quickly brought attention to "I think they all got a similar idea sir,why don't we go with them?" to which the tomboy immediately agreed with the idea "You got my vote Marcie,and stop calling me sir!"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to stretch out my legs a little bit." Franklin sighed and calmly decided to go along with the idea to which Linus, Eudora, Charlie Brown, Freida, Sally, Skylar, Franco, and Lucy nodded their heads in agreement before Claudia timidly tried to sit the whole thing out "I d-don't know g-guys,we're r-really high up,m-maybe I should just stay up h-here."

"Don't worry Claudia,I'll hold your hand the entire time,there's nothing to worry about." Skylar confidently reassured Claudia that she would be just fine as he grabbed ahold of her hand and climbed up on the doghouse with her and the other kids while Snoopy put on his flying ace helmet and googles and announced _"Prepare for blast off. 5,4,3,2,1…..GO!" _before a massive gust of wind came up from behind them all and started moving the doghouse all across the sky at an incredible speed.

"Oh this feels great!" Freida happily remarked as she and Charlie Brown started grabbing pieces of some of the clouds that were passing by before Ed somewhat nervously stated while he tightly held onto the doghouse "I know I of all people shouldn't be nervous here,but the thing is I've never really flown without Annabelle before,so I don't know what to expect here!" to which Sally exclaimed out of excitement "This is amazing! It's like a ride at an amusement park!" all the while Claudia was keeping her eyes shut out of fear despite Skylar holding onto her hand the entire time.

"_Where are we going Snoopy?" _Roger laughed and questioned out of curiosity while he looked down at the clouds as Snoopy promptly clarified _"Where else would be going? We're going to go and explore the world!" _before Andy grew a huge look of excitement and happily exclaimed while they continued to blissfully fly throughout the skies _"Woo-hoo! Lets do this!" _to which Olaf smirked and playfully joked _"Lets see if we spot Aladdin anywhere." _followed up by Herman and Gracie each holding up a camera while the former nonchalantly retorted _"Me and Gracie have the cameras."_

_**Freida:**_

_Life's been so unsatisfying._

_**Sally:**_

_Look suddenly now I'm flying._

_**Peppermint Patty:**_

_Freewheeling from cloud to cloud to cloud._

_**Rebecca:**_

_Wings spread and the sky below me._

_**Lucy:**_

_There's no one to stop or slow me._

_Pure freedom and everything's allowed._

_**Ed:**_

_Down there,I know there's tons of burdens I must bear._

_Somewhere._

_**Linus:**_

_But from up here._

_The world looks so small._

_And suddenly life seems so clear._

_**Eudora**__:_

_And from up here._

_You coast past it all._

_The obstacles just disappear._

_**Franklin:**_

_Never feel heavy or earthbound._

_**Marcie:**_

_No worries or doubts interfere._

_**Skylar:**_

_There's nothing but you looking down on the view from up here._

"Come on Claudia,open your eyes,this is fun!" Skylar happily persisted that Claudia uncover her eyes to which the girl meekly nodded her head and reluctantly did so while they began to fly above some forests and mountains.

_**Charlie Brown:**_

_Stretch out with the wind behind you._

_**Claudia:**_

_Here we go._

_**Freida:**_

_Float up,let the current find you._

_**Claudia:**_

_Look out below._

_**Peppermint Patty:**_

_Keep climbing and sail from breeze to breeze._

_**Claudia:**_

_Stay close don't leave me please!_

_**Eudora:**_

_Head up to the stratospheres._

_**Linus:**_

_With only the stars to steer us._

_Just think of the possibilities._

_**Claudia:**_

_I think I've got it._

_**Charlie Brown:**_

_Below,we spend our whole life trudging to and 'fro._

_Now-_

_**Claudia:**_

_Wooah!_

_**Everyone:**_

_And from up here._

_**Olaf:**_

_The world looks so wide._

_**Andy:**_

_Yet every horizon seems near._

_**Everyone:**_

_And from up here._

_**Gracie:**_

_No path is denied._

_**Roger,Herman And Snoopy:**_

_You choose which direction you veer._

_**Ed:**_

_And suddenly you can breathe easy._

_**Rebecca:**_

_Contented._

_**Freida:**_

_Carefree._

_**Claudia:**_

_Cavelier._

_**Everyone: **_

_Just gliding on through looking down at the view from up here._

_And from up here._

_The world is all yours._

_Each mountain and meadow and mear._

_And from up here._

_Life's duties and chores are barely worth shedding a tear._

_And all of the sky lies before us._

_Straight up to the far stratosphere._

_So head for the blue and let's take in the view from up here._

_It's just me and you looking down at the view from up here._

**NEXT CHAPTER: ARRIVAL IN LONDON.**

"**Soon." **Written By Barry Moniloe. Performed By Jodi Bennson.

©️SBK Records

"**The View From Up Here." **Written By Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

©️Walt Disney Music Company


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13: THE START OF A JOLLY HOLIDAY**

It was precisely 8:30 AM at an airport in England while an airplane from the USA came flying down as it's tires briefly screeched on the roadway before it came to a steady and silent halt afterwards. This was of course the same plane that boarded the PEANUTS gang from Sparkyville as they all headed out and made their way to the docking station so they could retrieve their luggage. As they were making their way down the hallway Peppermint Patty noticed that Snoopy was once again wearing a fancy hat and using a walking cane as she looked down at the dog and lamented "Well would you look at that,not even five minutes in England and he's already acting like the prime minister….again." which resulted in the beagle smacking her in the head with his cane and getting absolutely no reaction from anyone else.

Once the kids presented their passports and reached the docking station to retrieve their luggage,Peppermint Patty was the last up to get her suitcase aside from the dogs that were waiting for their supper dishes as she tightly clenched her hands for a moment before she firmly grabbed her suitcase off the merry go round and didn't get dragged around on it like before as she proudly stated with a smug grin "Aha! Nice try you accursed machine,I've grown smarter since our last encounter and will not be humiliated agai-WOOOOAH! OH GOOD GRIEF!" only for the tomboy to be proven wrong when someone else's suitcase caught hold of her shirt and dragged her around on the merry go round for a few cycles before it tossed her into Snoopy's mountain of luggage pile,making him and the rest of the dogs giggle hysterically at the display.

"Don't proclaim victory for battles you haven't won yet sir." Marcie looked down at her friend and coldly lecturered as she and Franco helped the tomboy get up to which she promptly agreed with the moral while she straightened out her messy hair "I think I already get that Marcie." before the three kids joined everyone else outside while Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Gracie and Roger followed with their supper dishes on their heads,with Woodstock chilling inside of Snoopy's.

Pretty soon afterwards the kids had called for a taxi and were now riding around the streets of London with the St Paul's Cathedral as their first destination for the day,and they were all enthralled by some of the sights they came across,ESPECIALLY Sally, Lucy, Franco, Skylar, Claudia, Freida, Eudora, Franklin, Ed, Rebecca, Andy, Olaf, Roger, Gracie and Herman since they had never been to London before,and even those who had been there before were still amazed at the sights because the city had indeed changed since their last trip,since it was so many years ago that it had happened,not to mention that they were all different people now compared to how they were back then,not but a whole much,but still different enough people to the point that they did reflect on the way to the cathedral.

_Oh yeah._

_Still don't know what I was looking for._

_And my time was running wild._

_A million dead end streets._

_Every time I thought I'd got it made._

_It seemed the taste was not so sweet._

_So I turned myself to face me._

_But I've never caught a glimpse._

_Of how the others must see the faker._

_I'm much too fast to take that test._

_Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes turn and face the strange._

_(Ch-ch-changes.)_

_Don't wanna be a richer one._

_Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes turn and face the strange._

_(Ch-ch-changes.)_

_I'm just gonna have to be different one._

_Time may change me but I can't trace time._

_(Ooh yeah.)_

_I watch the ripples change their size._

_But never leave the stream from impermanence and._

_So the days float through my eyes._

_But still the days seem the same._

_And these children that you spit on._

_As they try to change their worlds._

_They're immune to your consultations._

_They're quite aware of what they're going through._

_Ch-ch-ch-changes turn and face the strange._

_(Ch-ch-changes.)_

_Don't tell them to grow up and out of it._

_Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes turn and face the strange._

_(Ch-ch-changes.)_

_Where's your shame you've left us up to our necks in it._

_Time may change me but you can't trace time._

_Strange fascination._

_Fascinating me._

_Ah changes are takin'._

_The pace I'm goin' through._

_Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes turn and face the strange._

_(Ch-ch-changes.)_

_Oh look out with your rock 'n' rollers._

_Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes turn and face the strange._

_(Ch-ch-changes.)_

_Pretty soon now you're gonna get a little older._

_Time may change me but I can't trace time._

_I said that time may change me._

_But I can't change time._

When the kids finally made it over to the cathedral and stepped out of the taxi,they were all in awe of the exterior of the entire building as Skylar wolf whistled at the sight of it while Franco quietly whispered in awe *"St. Paul du bist großartig."* to which Freida nodded her head and nonchalantly agreed with the boy "I may not understand what you just said,but I agree with it." before Eudora happily remarked at the display "Wow,it's even cooler than I imagined in person."

"W-w-where's the b-bird lady?" Claudia lightly chuckled and jokingly wondered as she glanced over at the front steps while they started making their way inside before Linus calmly retorted "Maybe if we sing the song she'll come out." to which Charlie Brown shook his head and refused the idea "Nah,I think if we sing out loud in public we'll probably get a warrant for disturbing the peace."

*St. Paul you are magnificent.*

**NEXT CHAPTER: A NUN PARTY.**

"**Changes (Feat David Bowie.)." **Written By David Bowie. Performed By Butterfly Boucher and David Bowie.

**©️**Dreamworks Records.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14: A SPECIAL BEAGLE GATHERING**

The kids were being given a tour of the cathedral after they had headed inside alongside many other people,and they were all in awe of the craftsmanship of the chapel and all the other rooms they were taken through,not to mention that the paintings that were up on the ceilings they found absolutely breathtaking and simply beautiful,while Herman, Woodstock and the rest of the dogs however had instead wandered off into other areas of the cathedral and moved away from the crowd.

"Wow,look at all those paintings." An awestruck Freida quietly remarked while she pointed up at one of the paintings she saw on the ceiling as Charlie Brown promptly commented on their beauty "I know honey,they're all incredible,even after already being here before. If all those biblical milestones and events are as pretty as they're displayed here,then wow." before Eudora wondered out of curiosity "I wonder how long it must have taken for them to paint all this." to which Linus nonchalantly guessed out of a hunch "Well I won't say that their workload rivaled Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel,but it was still a lot."

"Let's just pray that the guys that were in charge of this place had some Warners to add some fun to the situation." Lucy rolled her eyes and jokingly replied as she took a picture of the ceiling to which Peppermint Patty scoffed and firmly retorted "Like those guys would do anything but make the painter's job a nightmare,and conversely a comedy riot for the rest of us." before Marcie confidently guessed while she and Sally leaned on a nearby wall "You know I have a feeling that James would be fangirling if he were here."

"Yeah,when he's not trying to perfect his musical theater abilities,he sure loves some good architectural design." Rebecca nodded her head and nonchalantly agreed with the brunette before Franco lightly chuckled and remarked as he pulled out his phone "It's funny you say that,I just sent him picture of painting and he replied with a GIF of someone freaking out." to which Sally rolled her eyes and somewhat mockingly retorted "Of course he would,but what I'm most surprised by here is that they let Ed into the building."

"Honestly same Sally,I practically have Pigpen style clothes minus all the dust. I thought a place like this would have a very strict cleanliness policy." Ed nodded his head and couldn't help but agree with Sally's little quip as the kids moved on ahead with the tour before Freida wondered out of curiously "You know I wonder where them dogs, Herman and Woodstock went? The tour should be over in a few minutes I think." to which Franklin sighed and calmly guessed "I'm sure they're somewhere around here. All we have to do to spot them is to look for a trench coat because that thing is doing a good job hiding Herman,even though he walks on all fours compared to the dogs people still think he's one of them." followed up Claudia dumbfoundedly stating "It's s-still a l-little jarring seeing G-Gracie walk around like t-that to be honest whenever she d-decides to."

Speaking of which actually,Gracie, Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Roger, Herman and Woodstock were busy strolling down a hallway away from the crowd and the tour as the crossbreed calmly remarked _"I prefer this over the tour. Mainly because it's quiet." _to which Andy nodded his head and added in agreement _"Yup,and also because that means we get to look at this stuff on our own time. At least until we have to get on the train." _before Olaf looked up at a nearby clock and stated when he saw that it was 9:30 AM _"And since it leaves at 5:30 that ain't for another 8 hours or something." _

"_Yup we got time to do what we want,because I got a rematch to win over at Wimbledon later on." _Snoopy gave a sigh of relief and remarked with anticipation in his voice before Woodstock started quietly giggling to himself to which the beagle took notice and bitterly retorted _"Hey I'm gonna win this time,just as long as that one referee isn't there to cheat me out of my points." _which caused Roger to ask out of slight confusion _"Snoopy do I even need to ask what you're going on about?" _

"_No. No you don't." _Snoopy shook his head and immediately denied in response while Olaf leaned in and whispered into Roger's ear _"I'll tell you the goods when we get to Wimbledon." _before Herman suddenly raised an eyebrow and pointed out when he saw what looked like an abandoned bluetooth speaker sitting on a bench up ahead _"Guys look,someone left their radio here." _

"_Well would ya look at that?" _Andy lightly chuckled and remarked at the sight of the radio before Olaf instantly suggested while they all approached it _"Let's see if there are any songs on this thing." _to which Gracie cautiously pressed the play button on the speaker which was instantly followed up by a song starting up,making the beagles along with Herman and Woodstock giddy as Andy excitedly stated _"All right,let's see if the person who left this here has taste."_

_Jesus,it's years we've been climbing your mountain._

_Yes it's years we've been walking your road._

_Lord it's been years,far too many for counting._

_With a lifetime of sin as our load._

_When will we rise up?_

_And lay down our burden?_

_Won't you tell me how long must we roll?_

_When will we rise up?_

_And lay down that burden?_

_Tell me when will you gather us home?_

However it was right then and there that a man's voice suddenly came out of the speaker as the song continued in a much more upbeat and jazzy direction,something that made the animals start tapping their feet as they listened to the voice "Good evening listeners! Thank you for joining us on this. Our revival's third and final glorious night. I am the reverend Jonas Nightingale and I know we've got a house full of sinners tonight. You sir,you a sinner? Ma'am,you're sin on a stick. And you? You're wondering if you can leave at intermission and commit even more sin. You're all sinners. Each and every one of you,but you can be saved."

_Tell me what do you do when the world's a mess?_

_And your life's in flux because the economy sucks?_

_And you're stuck way down in the depths of despair?_

_(Rise up!)_

_And what do you do when you're feeling the stress?_

_And you've run out of hope and you just can't cope?_

_And you're pretty darn sure that you ain't got a prayer?_

_(Rise up!)_

_See,the worse your troubles get._

_The deeper you feel your sinking._

_The more your one sure bet is he who reigns on high._

_Because at your lowest low._

_You only got one place to go._

_(Rise up!)_

"_Wow,this is actually some good stuff here." _A quite frankly impressed Olaf remarked as he really started getting into the beat with Andy, Snoopy, Gracie, Roger and Woodstock before the crossbreed noticed that Herman wasn't dancing with them and politely called him out on it _"Hey Herman,why aren't you joining us?" _to which the wolf nervously tried to explain himself _"I-I don't really feel comfortable doing that here and risk exposing myself and getting us thrown out like at that nightclub." _which prompted Snoopy to try to get him to join him with a slap on the back _"Oh come on,there's no one around here for miles,you're going to be fine." _

_Singing that'll make the rafters rock._

_Stories that'll make your soul unlock. _

_Even if you think it's all a crock._

_You'll rise up,you doubting thomases._

_Music that'll wipe away your blues._

_Preaching that you'll find you can't refuse._

_Though you're mostly atheists and Jews._

_You'll rise up,rise up and give unto the lord._

"_Come on Herman,you know you want to get out of that thing for a while." _Roger insisted that Herman join in on the fun they were having in a singsong tone of voice while he and the rest of the beagles stopped dancing and looked over at the wolf,who was getting increasingly redder in the face due to nervousness and bashfulness.

_Fellas that have been laid off at the plants._

_Farmers who have lost their federal grants._

_All of them are desperate for a chance to rise up!_

It was at this point that Herman was starting to uncontrollably tap his feet to the music and grow a large smile on his face as the beagles along with Woodstock slowly took off the trench coat and the hat,fully exposing the wolf.

_Men who've got no way to pay the rent._

_Wives who wonder where their savings went._

_Watch them offer us their last red cent to rise up!_

_These folks are stone cold out of luck._

_And you know what they're hoping._

_That if they maybe throw the lord a buck,he'll come and save their shirts._

_They'll be driving in from miles around._

_With hearts and wallets open._

_We'll make them suckers rise up._

_They'll give until it hurts._

"_So? You ready to join us?" _Snoopy chuckled and politely asked as he turned the volume on the speaker up to max to which the wolf instantly agreed to do _"Oh you bet I am!" _before he started dancing with Woodstock and the beagles while they all imagined that they were back at the nightclub from Ed's story and were being watched on the dance floor by all the other people that were there,even the three people they met and their pets.

_Tell them I can set their children straight._

_Tell them I can help keep off the weight._

_Tell them that tonight right here at eight._

_They'll rise up and pass the plane around. _

_Tell them I can make their conscious clear._

_Tell them I can make the rain appear._

_You tell them anything they need to hear._

_To rise up,rise up,and then we'll bleed them dry._

_Jesus,it's been years we've been climbing your mountain._

_It's been years we've been walking your road._

_(Rise up! Rise up!)_

_Lord it's been years,far too many for counting._

_With a lifetime of sin as our load._

_But we will rise up!_

_And open up our hearts and pray to you._

_Rise up!_

_And say the words we long to say to you._

_Rise up!_

_And sing out each and every day to you._

_Help the sinful find their way to you._

_If they've got cold cash to pay to you._

_Rise up!_

_Bass!_

_Wait a minute!_

_If you want to rise up you have to got to go higher._

_(Higher!)_

_Higher!_

_(Higher!)_

_Higher!_

_(Higher!)_

_I can't hear you,let me hear you now._

_Higher!_

_(Higher!)_

_Higher!_

_(Higher!)_

_Higher!_

_(Higher!)_

_Let's go up._

_(Wooah!)_

_Just a little bit higher!_

_(Higher!)_

_Higher!_

_(Higher!)_

_Higher!_

_(Higher!)_

_We don't need no music!_

_Rise up!_

_And dedicate our everything to you._

_Rise up!_

_And offer all that we can pay to you._

_Rise up!_

_And give whatever we can pay to you._

_Lift our voices to the skies._

_Until that happy day._

_Come on people._

_Come on._

_Show me you want it._

_Come on!_

_Come on!_

_Rise up!_

_Now let's get out there and save some god dang souls._

_Rise up!_

"_Woo-hoo!" _All of the animals cheered in excitement after the song had come to a close before a nun suddenly shouted from the other end of the hall "WOLF! GET AWAY FROM MY SPEAKER!" which was quickly followed up by all of them being kicked out the front door quicker than they could have ever imagined,where the rest of the kids were conveniently waiting for a taxi after their tour had ended as Charlie Brown looked over at the animals and happily greeted them "Oh there y'all are."

**NEXT CHAPTER: WIMBLEDON ROUND TWO**

**Author's Note: This chapter felt very hard to write at times when it came to the song. I hope it doesn't come across as me being preachy,I just liked the song and felt that this was a good place to include it. **

"**Rise Up." **Written By Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

©️Menken Music. Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15: WIMBLEDON ROUND TWO**

After the kids had met up with Snoopy and the animals thanks to them getting thrown out of the cathedral due to their antics in the hallway,they were pretty soon walking around the tall and mighty Big Ben itself,and much like the St. Paul's Cathedral they were all in awe of the landmark while the animals once again headed off to do their own thing,that being Snoopy's second tennis match over at Wimbledon that he was determined to win.

Sally was looking up at the giant golden clock that stood at the top of the tower as she calmly remarked at the sight of it "You know I had a dream one night where Peter Pan took me to Neverland,and we stood at the very top of one of those hand things." to which Linus lightly chuckled and retorted after he and Eudora had taken a picture together under the tower "Just like in the movie I guess,it's hard for people not to associate this tower with anything else." only for Skylar to shake his head and bitterly disagree "Nah,I can't look at this tower without thinking of the dreaded phantom heartless."

"Huh?" Claudia and Rebecca both raised an eyebrow and questioned out of confusion in unison as Skylar promptly explained himself "Oh it's just a pain in the behind boss from a game I like. Dang thing's constantly putting a timer on you and your party members and you have to prevent the clock from reaching a certain point or you're dead." to which Freida blinked twice before she looked up at the clock and wondered out of bewilderment "Did someone really look at this tower and get a phantom out of it?"

"Whoever did must have been a very weird kid,and not the Marcie kind of weird." Peppermint Patty shrugged her arms and nonchalantly guessed in response as Marcie lifted up her glasses a little and sarcastically replied "Thanks for that sir." before Franco sighed and stated in awe as he looked back up at the clock "Big Ben is a marvel. Imagine having to clean this thing whenever it gets all dirty." to which Lucy immediately scoffed and dismissed the idea "Oh I would never want to think of doing something as painful sounding as that. It sounds like something you'd do for a reward,not a regular job."

"Then the pay must be very good for a regular job then." Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and joked in response as he and the kids walked off to look at more of the city's sights before he pointed back at the tower and added in anticipation "And if we think this is tall,we still got to go up the Eiffel Tower when we're in Paris." to which Ed grew a small smirk and enthusiastically stated "Sounds quite the romantic spot. I likey."

"Oh it is Ed,it definitely is." Freida nodded her head and happily agreed with the boy while she slowly looked down at her hidden phone in her hand to see the words "Dinner surprise for my baby on the tower. 6:30 PM before concert." written down in the journal app before the kids boarded a bus and started making their way towards Victoria Station as Charlie Brown calmly remarked "I took a look at our train schedule and it turns out that they moved our train up ahead by several hours,it now leaves in thirty minutes."

"Well if that's the case then Herman and them beagles better hurry their little behinds up at that game of Snoopy's." Ed rolled his eyes and firmly remarked as he stretched out his arms and slunked back in his seat before Peppermint Patty clenched her fist and lamented out of disappointment "Man that ain't no fair at all,we don't even have time to eat." to which Marcie promptly tried to look on the bright side of things "Well considering that we didn't even know what we ate last time,I think that may have been for the best. At least we know what we're getting into when we're gonna be in France. I just hope we don't lose the animals."

Snoopy, his brothers, Gracie, Roger and Woodstock were all lying down at the front gates of Wimbledon with bruises alongside a massive mess of tennis rackets and tennis balls spread across the ground as Olaf sat up and quietly whimpered _"Well,at least you actually won the game this time." _before Andy followed suit and added more spastic than anything _"Yeah but it was against a wrestler looking guy who REALLY didn't like losing." _to which Roger coughed and frantically agreed while he brushed some dirt off his fur _"Andy's right,if I knew we were gonna get smacked around like that,I would have just given him the World Cup trophy." _

"_Nuh-uh,because he would have just pounded us anyway with that monster cat of his." _Gracie shook her head and angrily disagreed in response as she straightened out her messy and bent collar before Snoopy rose up and tried to think positively _"Hey don't think like that,all that matters is that I won,showed that referee what for and restored my pride. Now-" _only for him to stop when he realized that Herman was nowhere to be found as he nervously called out _"Hey Herman,where you at man?"_

"_Over here." _Herman promptly responded as he slithered our of the front gates before Olaf wondered when he noticed that he looked practically unscathed from Snoopy's opponent _"Hey! How come you didn't get slugged like we did?" _to which the wolf chuckled and smugly explained himself as he reached into his trench coat and pulled out their opponent's trousers _"Well you see I ended up hiding in the stand while y'all were being pounded,and when the time was just right I snatched his trousers off of him and high tailed it out of there. After giving him a bite on the posterior of course." _making the beagles along with Woodstock start howling with laughter while they walked away from the tennis club. They may have gotten pounded by a very angry manchild who couldn't handle losing,but all that mattered was that they won,Snoopy regained his pride and Herman quickly got them their revenge.

Sometime later after the kids had made it to the train station and gotten their luggage loaded up along with the animals,they were now all in their seats and waiting for the train to head towards the Cliffs Of Dover as Peppermint Patty lightly punched Ed in the shoulder and happily stated "Well it looks like we're on our way to France now Eddy. And you're one step closer to meeting your mum!" to which the hermit nodded his head and cheerfully added in agreement while he took out the letter from his pocket "I know,all we gotta do is make it over to France and ask the locals about where this chateau is. If I'm lucky I can probably find her in about another day. I hope."

"Well,just remember that you don't need to do this whole thing by yourself sweetie,we're your friends and can help out if we need to." Freida sighed and respectfully offered Ed their potential help in the future as Sally happily agreed with a smile "You said it,it's because of your mother writing that letter that I'm over here in the first place." to which Lucy nodded her head and couldn't help but agree as well "Same here Ed,I can't think of any other way to repay you due to your lifestyle,so I think a little help in the search is the least I could do." before Ed wiped a slowly forming tear from his eye and happily replied "Thanks guys."

However it was then that Rebecca started to develop a slight look of uncertainty on her face while Ed looked out the window as she meekly thought to herself while she rubbed Roger's fur _"Ed,I hope you're able to find what you're looking for….but don't be too disappointed if you don't. We both know what it's like to be hugely disappointed in our lives,and I don't want you to feel hurt like that again,like I did sometimes." _before the train suddenly jolted and slowly began to take off as Marcie happily announced while Gracie got into Claudia's lap "Okay,we're making our way to the Cliffs Of Dover." followed up by Sally quietly cheering in excitement.

As the train quickly began to blaze past the city of London and soon made it way into England's countryside,the kids were all mesmerized by the lovely scenery as they all looked out the window and took it all in without saying a single word,all the while Rebecca kept thinking about Ed and the slight chance that he could be disappointed by what he could find,and how it reminded her of when she was still in the orphanage.

_When I was just a kid._

_More than a bit naive._

_I knew dreams could come true._

_Especially if you believe._

_Wished on a million stars._

_Prayed till my knees were red._

_And I'd ache lying awake in my bed._

_But now I'm long past dreamin'._

_Long past burnin'._

_Long past learnin' things can't be just right._

_Cos all that wishin'._

_Comes to nothin.'_

_When you waken to the dawn's cold light._

_Lowered my hopes a notch._

_Wasn't too hard to do._

_Life,love,big dreams and small._

_Somehow they all fell through._

_Wished upon one last star._

_Shimmering way up high._

_But that too was just a beautiful lie._

_And now I'm long past dreamin'._

_Long past tryin'._

_Long past sighin' when the stars shine bright._

_Cos hopes get stolen._

_Hearts get broken._

_Dreams get taken from you overnight._

_And you with all the pretty things you like to say._

_We both know come mornin' they're just gonna melt away._

_You see I'm long past dreamin'._

_Long past hurtin'._

_Long past certain that I know the score at all._

_So all I'm askin' is a reason._

_One good reason I should dream once more._

_Show me somethin' that's worth's dreamin' for._

**NEXT CHAPTER: BONJOUR**

**Author's Note: The phantom heartless I was referencing was a secret boss in Neverland from Kingdom Hearts 1. I hate that boss with a passion.**

"**Long Past Dreamin." **Written By Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

Performed By Jessica Phillips.

©️Menken Music. Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16: BONJOUR**

Once the kids made it over to the Cliffs Of Dover and boarded a hovercraft that took them across the sea in about forty five minutes,they were officially in the country known as France much to their excitement,especially Ed's since he was now one step closer to finding the location of his mother. After the kids got off the boat and Snoopy made sure he, his brothers, Woodstock, Roger, Herman and Gracie weren't embarrassingly blown away by it like the previous time,the gang decided that their first order of business was to rent a car as they headed to the closest dealership available,for the main part of their trip had finally begun.

"Wow,I'm in France. It's all so otherworldly big brother." Sally quietly swooned in awe and excitement as she looked around at the car dealership and all the people that were in there before Linus politely retorted while he grew a small smirk "Honestly from personal experience Sally,once the novelty wears off the place just looks like any other normal location." to which Rebecca calmly added while she looked through a French guidebook she got at the entrance "Yeah pretty much that,except that almost everyone here speaks a language we don't even know. I barely know the basics."

"Guess I'm going back to being our translator." Marcie sighed and timidly whined in response before Skylar glanced over at the girl and politely offered "Well Marcie I'm pretty fluent in the French,I can be our translator." to which Marcie immediately took him up on the offer "Please do that Skylar,I would very much like to not be needed for all the translating this time. At the very least we can take turns."

"At long last my search for my mom can begin,but France is quite a big country though. This is either gonna be very short or very long. Where should I even start?" Ed stretched out his arms and happily stated as he pulled out and took a look at his letter before Lucy firmly suggested while she straightened out the boy's slightly crooked hat "Well the first thing we can do is get ourselves a car,and there's someone right up ahead where we can get one from." to which Claudia tightly held Skylar's hand and encouragingly stated "Y-your cue S-Skylar."

"You go speak that French!" Freida supportively added while Skylar took the lead and they followed behind him before the boy cleared his throat,slowly walked up to the dealer and calmly stated "Bonjour,nous aimerions louer une voiture monsieur." to which the man looked down at the kids and politely requested in response while he handed Skylar a piece of paper requiring a signature "Quelqu'un devra signer ce document prouvant qu'il peut conduire de manière responsable la voiture." which prompted the boy to turn around and explain to the others "He said that someone needs to sign this so it can say that they can responsibly drive."

"Well we know just who to call then." Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and happily reported as Snoopy and the other dogs came walking by along with Herman and Woodstock,with the abnormal beagle in question now wearing a blue beret as he grabbed the document and immediately signed it with his paw before he handed it over to the man to which he promptly stated "C'est le SUV blanc dans le parking."

"He says it's the white SUV in the parking lot." Skylar calmly relayed the information to the others before they promptly headed outside with their luggage and searched for their car in the parking lot as Marcie smiled and happily complimented Skylar "You're pretty good with the language Skylar,I was worried I'd have to step in and help you out." to which Freida added equally as impressed "Me too,that was great back there."

"Thanks for the compliments." Skylar got a little red in the face and showed his gratitude while Claudia briefly kissed him on the cheek before the group spotted their car right up ahead as Charlie Brown gave a sigh of relief and gratefully lamented while they began putting their luggage in the trunk "Thank the lord that it's not a crank car,my hands shrivel in pain everytime I see one." to which Lucy scoffed and firmly requested as she and the others quickly piled into the car "Charlie Brown stop having PTSD and get in here."

"I'm coming!" Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and mockingly retorted as he closed the trunk and got into the front seat before Eudora whistled and remarked out of surprise "Wow,I'm surprised that all of us could even fit in this thing." to which Linus nodded his head and added in agreement "I know,I think if this car didn't have a back trunk then we'd be in some trouble,either that or one of us would need to sit with the luggage." which resulted in Sally playfully joking as she pointed at her brother "If we had to do that,my first vote would be my brother."

"Gee thanks for the vote of consideration." Charlie Brown rolled his eyes once again and sarcastically retorted before Claudia asked out of curiosity "S-so where are we going n-now?" to which Peppermint Patty perked up and added equally as curious "Yeah you bring up a good point Claude. We don't exactly have a place to go other than Paris for that concert of Tervor's,and that ain't even till the end of the week." which prompted Franco to politely suggest in response "Perhaps we could begin making our way to Paris then."

"I'm looking at this GPS here and it says that Paris is a little over a day's ride from here,and it also looks like Pierre's farm and Violette's chateau are in that direction. Y'all wanna do a quick visit on the way?" Linus calmly wondered in response as he lifted his head up from his phone and handed it to Charlie Brown to which the round headed boy shrugged his arms and nonchalantly agreed "I don't see why not,we got plenty of time anyway." before Marcie nodded her head and added in agreement as well "And Pierre does seem to know a lot about chateaus around here,maybe he knows something about the one Ed's mom is at."

"I don't know who this Pierre is,but if he can help with the search then I'm down for it." Ed smiled and happily obliged to go along with the idea before Peppermint Patty sighed and politely retorted "It is a long story Ed that I think he'll just need to tell you himself,but enough of that. Let's get this show on the road already!" to which Snoopy promptly saluted and started the car while he began to develop an evil look of malice on his face before he slammed his foot on the gas pedal and blasted the car off into the road.

"WOOOHOOOO!" Snoopy gleefully laughed and exclaimed in utter excitement as he drove past numerous other cars and drivers at an incredible speed while the kids tightly held onto their seats for dear life in response before Snoopy suddenly stopped the car at a stop sign,nearly causing the others and their luggage to fly up to the windshield in a flash if not for their seatbelts.

"Snoopy's driving this thing like it's a game of Crazy Taxi. Good lord." A woozy and dizzy Skylar remarked out of a slight sense of fear before another car suddenly slammed into them from behind and caused all of Andy's fuzzy fur to stick straight up and become a garbled mess along with Olaf and Ed's hats to fly off their heads at the seams to which Snoopy growled out of pure frustration as he peeped his head out of the window and began cursing at the now furious drivers that had stopped as well before Marcie and Skylar joined him shortly afterwards,all in French of course.

"Oh for goodness sake put a sock in it you too!" Lucy groaned and fiercely demanded as she pulled down the two kids back into their seats before she glanced over at Snoopy and suggested in determination "Snoopy just leave these jokers in the dust,make them eat yours!" to which the beagle immediately crawled back into his seat and blasted off with the car once again,causing numerous pebbles and clouds of dirt to fog up the windshields behind them as the beagle began laughing again in triumph.

"Who would've thought that Lucy of all people would be the voice of reason in this situation?" Linus raised an eyebrow and questioned in bewilderment as Lucy surprisingly retorted with a smile "Because I'm in a good mood due to the novelty of being in France and leaving those clowns in the dust,I'm not gonna pound you little brother for asking that." before Olaf meekly whispered to Andy while he tightly held onto his seat _"Sometimes our brother's driving makes me wonder how he managed to get a license to drive." _which prompted the fuzzy beagle to add equally as confused _"I think it's time he got another driving test then." _all the while Charlie Brown sighed in indifference as he looked out at the window and glanced at the beautiful French countryside while Snoopy's driving speed began to come to a more reasonable crawl and Freida leaned up ahead to look out the window with him.

_When the night has come._

_And the land is dark._

_And the moon is the only light we'll see._

_No,I won't be afraid. _

_Oh,I won't be afraid._

_Just as long as you stand._

_Stand by me._

_So darling,darling stand by me._

_Oh,stand by me._

_Oh,stand now._

_Stand by me._

_Stand by me._

_If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall._

_Or the mountain should crumble to the sea._

_I won't cry._

_I won't cry._

_No,I won't shed a tear._

_Just as long as you stand._

_Stand by me._

_And darling,darling stand by me._

_Oh,stand by me._

_Oh,stand now._

_Stand by me._

_Stand by me._

_And darling,darling stand by me._

_Oh,stand by me._

_Oh,stand._

_Stand by me._

_Stand by me._

_Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me?_

_Oh,stand by me._

_Oh,stand now._

_Stand by me._

_(Stand!)_

_Darling,darling stand by me._

_Oh,stand by me._

_Oh,stand now._

_Stand by me._

_Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me._

_Oh,stand by me._

_Oh,stand now._

_Stand by me._

_Stand by me._

**NEXT CHAPTER: CHARLIE BROWN 1- BREAD 0**

"**Stand By Me." **Written By Benjamin Nelson,Jerry Lieber and Mike Stroller.

Performed By Florence + The Machine.

©️Island Records. Universal Music.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17: LOOMING DARKNESS**

The kids continued to make their way throughout the French countryside just like the previous time,they're weren't any major hurdles or interruptions that had gotten in the way either,well except for their stomachs on the other hand since they hadn't eaten for hours and had to skip lunch in London due to their train leaving earlier than scheduled,and them just not being as used to some of England's food like they were with other places. It was a little bit past noon and the kids had since parked the car into the same French village they stopped at for food on their first trip,except that this time the car didn't nearly break down and the kids decided to take a look around town since they didn't have as much of a big time crunch,while the beagles, Woodstock and Herman would merely stay in the car to chat.

"Me and Ed are gonna head over to that weapon's shop over there." Rebecca happily announced as she and Ed pointed over to a medieval weapon's shop across the street before Linus promptly stated in response due to a slight sense of intrigue "I guess it wouldn't hurt if me and Eudora joined you,looking at medieval weaponry does have its visual benefits." to which Freida pointed over at a clothing store and announced "Me and Sally are going to check out that clothing store,France is somewhat well known for their fashion."

"I'll get us the bread from the bakery and wait for y'all in the car with them." Charlie Brown smiled and cheerfully stated as he pointed over to the nearby bakery to which Peppermint Patty looked around at the various buildings and enthusiastically announced "And I guess the rest of us will just look around town then,make sure you're able to have your share this time Chuck." before she, Franco, Marcie, Franklin, Claudia, Skylar and Lucy waltzed off into town,with Ed, Rebecca, Linus and Eudora going off to their destination shortly afterwards,all the while Charlie Brown blushed in embarrassment due to the sharp reminder.

"See you in a little bit sweetie. Don't ask to see what I may or may not be getting,it's gonna be a surprise." Freida sighed and happily swooned as she kissed Charlie Brown on the cheek to which the boy smiled and instantly obliged "Sure thing Freida,my lips will be sealed." to which the curly haired girl playfully winked at her boyfriend before she and Sally headed off to the clothing store followed up by the round headed boy making his way over to the bakery. Thankfully Charlie Brown was able to successfully get a large loaf of French bread from the bakery after about ten more minutes and didn't have it cause an allergic reaction or be cut in half due to the hood of the car like before.

"Ok Snoopy I got the-" Charlie Brown tried to announce as he carefully walked up to the passenger seat door with bread loaf in hand only for him to be cut off and caught off guard when the car suddenly moved up a little,which prompted the confused boy to blink a few times before he repeated himself "Snoopy I got the-" only for the same exact thing to happen again,only this time it was followed up by what sounded like giggling from the inside.

Charlie Brown at this point was starting to catch onto what was going on as he developed a look of frustration on his face and sternly announced as he tossed the loaf of bread into the open window and quickly got in "Snoopy I got the bread,and I think it's time that we go get everyone because we don't have all the time in the world to play around. Okay?" to which his dog shrugged his arms and reluctantly did so while the dogs immediately took turns taking a bite out of the loaf,making Charlie Brown roll his eyes at the sight as he meekly thought to himself _"It's hard enough taking care of one dog at times,now I gotta deal with five including a wolf and a bird. Maybe I should have gotten four loafs."_

Later on the kids had since gotten back on the road and were all eating some of the bread as Peppermint Patty jokingly remarked "Wow Chuck,I never thought you would have been able to keep your share this time. Remember how well it made the car run last time?" before Charlie Brown got red in the face yet again as he took off a small piece of bread and put it into the AC slot,which somehow caused some of the air flow to split off in multiple directions and apparently make everyone else cool in the process to which Lucy softly gasped and requested upon discovery "Ok please keep that thing in there because this is actually quite nice feeling."

"Well would you look at that,and I think you only meant that as a joke Patty." Franklin chuckled and happily stated in awe as he felt some of the cool air spray onto him before Ed took a deep breath and cheerfully remarked "Wow,Chuck right there is a miracle worker,imagine that of ALL things." to which everyone in the car started laughing at the display,even Charlie Brown couldn't help but find the situation a little funny in hindsight. Their trip so far was proving to be going quite smoothly so far,no hurdles,mishaps or danger to be found…...yet.

Meanwhile across the sea and back in the states,a 40's looking car had slowly pulled into the mostly empty parking lot of a federal prison in the state of Minnesota on a rainy,dark night,and a young,tall black man with a brown trenchcoat,round glasses and short hair came stepping out and quickly made his way into the prison. The man seemed to show no emotions or vulnerability whatsoever as he slowly walked past the numerous cells full of bloodthirsty men and women who had broken the law and ended up there as punishment. After about a few minutes of silent walking,the man seemed to have reached a black door at the end of a long hallway and opened it up to be met with the sight of an old man with short grey hair,square glasses and a black suit sitting at a desk in the middle of a dark room that was only illuminated by the yellow light of a lamp on his desk.

"Warden Freeman,I received a letter asking for my presence here. What's wrong?" The man calmly wondered as he promptly sat down in a chair before Freeman slowly pulled out a file from his desk and asked as he presented it to the man "Can you confirm that this is you sir? I just need to know for certain that you are the right person for this job." to which the man looked down at the file and politely answered "Yes. That's me."

"Exactly what I wanted to hear." The warden smiled and nonchalantly retorted is response while he lit a cigar in his mouth and continued as he took the file and began looking over it "It says here that you're name is Tyrone Watson. Ever since you were a kid you wanted to work for the law,just like your mother and father,and not too long after you joined the police force,you seemed to…...leave for personal reasons one winter night….right?" and it was then that flashbacks of a young girl and her grave began to ring in his head along with the words "MAMBA LOOK OUT!" and a gunshot before he snapped back to reality and somberly confirmed "Yes."

The warden then proceeded to blow out some smoke and continue as he put the cigar back in his mouth "But that didn't move you away from the law entirely now did it? A little while after,you became a private detective in that very same town,and you even tried to help out the people there during the fires from the…..terrorists known as The Lizard Ladies. Right?" to which Tyrone hung his head a little and meekly confirmed yet again "Yes that's me. Tyrone Watson." before the warden calmly retorted while he put away the file "Good,that's all I needed to know about you."

"If you know that much about me than you must know that I couldn't save that girl at the salvage yard,it was only AFTER the trigger was pulled that one of my squad mates could bring in the kid who killed her." Tyrone lifted his head back up and sternly asked out of guilt and confusion as the warden promptly explained himself in response "I have no one else who's willing to do this job,and it's an urgent job to boot. You're my last resort in this situation Tyrone." to which the detective sighed and reluctantly decided to take the job "Alright,I'll bite." which prompted the warden to calmly state his buisness "About a week ago at exactly 11:30 PM,there was a prison riot held in the main cell area of this prison. Many prisoners had gotten out of their cells and started a fight with many of the guards,and it got to the point where every guard in the building was called in to quell the ensuing chaos. Thankfully no one was severely injured and the prisoners were returned to their cells promptly."

"Ok so there was a riot,they happen all the time." Tyrone shrugged his arms and coldly tried to downplay the situation only for the warden to grit his teeth and continue much more firm "However it turns out that the very prisoner who started the riot may have set the whole thing up so they could escape under our noses,along with at least twenty more inmates as well. We believe that they may have taken a nearby cruise to France,since many guards reported that the main perpetrator was talking to other inmates about France before the jailbreak. We rounded them up,questioned them and told us exactly what we needed to hear." to which Tyrone sighed and lamented in response "Damn it. That's bad,and I take it you need me to go retrieve them?"

"Exactly. We are willing to offer you a reasonable payment for their retrieval. Dead or alive. This thumb drive should have all the info you need." The warden nodded his head and confidently confirmed Tyrone's suspicions while he gave him a thumb drive out of his desk to which the man merely stood up and began to make his way to the door while he calmly retorted "Give me the time I need. Twenty one inmates in France is a hefty ordeal,you know that." before he exited the office and slowly made his way back to his car.

"_Margaux Holt. I may not have been able to save you from the bullet that night,but I promise that I'll do my best to do something right. Even it's not related to you in the slightest,I won't let you down." _Tyrone thought to himself in determination as he started up his car and began to make his way toward the nearest airport,for France was his next destination.

**NEXT CHAPTER: PIERRE THE FARM BOY**

**Author's Note: The first three people who can correctly guess the escaped prisoner's identity will get a shoutout in the chapter they're revealed in. **


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18: FARM WORK**

It took about another thirty minutes of nonstop driving on the road for the kids to finally reach their very first stop on their trip,and that place was none other than Pierre's own little farm in the countryside as Snoopy parked the car on the side of the road so they kids could get a look at the place before they would get out. Honestly the place looked practically untouched since their last trip,for everything looked just the same like nothing had ever happened,it was just like they had gone back in time to their very first trip. The only thing that looked remotely different was that there were some small farm animals walking around in the yard such as some chickens,ducks and pigs. All of the kids were looking forward to seeing Pierre again,not just so they could see him and see how he was doing after all this time,but also so they could see if he could help out with Ed's search for his mother.

As the gang got out of the car and began to slowly make their way towards the front door,Peppermint Patty wolf whistled at the look of the place and reminisced in awe "Wow,call me impressed,the place looks exactly the same save for a few animals." before Franklin softly sighed and politely retorted as he glanced at some of the animals "I wouldn't know for obvious reasons,but it does look like a nice place regardless." to which Marcie smiled and happily replied in response "From what I remember of me and her staying here,it was pretty nice."

"I bet you also remember the "romance" as well too." Linus chuckled and jokingly asked with hand quotations to which both Marcie and Peppermint Patty lightly blushed at the reminder before the former tried to brush it off as she and Franklin began to hold hands "That was a long time ago Linus,many things have changed since then." which resulted in Patty adding in agreement while she and Franco also held hands "Marcie's right,that was indeed a long time ago,even to the point where I was dumb enough to think that Pierre had the hots for me instead of Marcie."

"T-that sounds straight of a s-soap opera to me." Claudia lightly laughed and playfully stated in response as Skylar promptly nodded his head in agreement before Lucy wondered out of curiosity when she saw how many animals were walking around in the yard "You know I get that this place is a farm and all,but I wonder why there are so many animals out here. Shouldn't there be a barn or a stable?"

"Come to think of it,I do remember there being a barn around here,but it seems that Pierre may have moved it somewhere." Marcie lifted her head up and promptly replied as she looked around the yard only to see that the barn was missing,and in its place was only a few piles of wood and paint to which Eudora shrugged her arms and merely tried to brush it aside "You probably just got a hazy memory when it comes to that. I'm sure Pieree will tell y'all if anything's changed." before Rebecca politely asked once they made it to the front door and knocked on it "So are y'all sure that Pierre will be able to help out with Ed's search? He's got a lot of ground to cover to search for this chateau."

"If Charlie believes he can,I do too." Freida smiled and confidently retorted as she kissed her boyfriend on the cheek to which Peppermint Patty scoffed and firmly insisted in response "This kid knew a lot about some of the local places and such. I'm sure one chateau won't be that big of a hassle for him." before the door suddenly opened to reveal a very familiar face as a boy with short red hair appeared from behind.

"Oh hello you guys! What a surprise!" Pierre happily greeted the kids at the first sight of them as Peppermint Patty quickly grabbed a hold of his hand for a shake and ecstatically greeted him back "Why hello there Pierre,it sure has been a while hasn't it?" to which Marcie smiled and added a little more calm and collected "It's been a long time Pierre,we just felt like stopping by for a quick visit while we were over here."

"It's very nice to see you again Pierre." Charlie Brown chuckled and happily greeted the boy as well before Pierre politely offered in response while Snoopy walked up to him and shook his hand "It is very nice to see all of you again indeed,come on in if you want to! All my farm work is done for the day anyway." to which the group promptly began to make their way inside. Pierre was very quick to notice that there were a lot more people that had come this time,and many of them were people he hadn't even known as he respectfully brought it up while he shut the door behind them "So I see that y'all got an even bigger party this time. And a lot more dogs too."

"Yeah we do Pieree,this whole trip actually came out of left field believe it or not." Charlie Brown smiled and happily stated in response before he pointed at the new kids and introduced them "This is my girlfriend Freida. The youngest one is my sister Sally. Over there is Marcie's boyfriend Franklin along with Patty's boyfriend Franco. There's Linus's sister Lucy along with his girlfriend Eudora. There's Claudia and her boyfriend Skylar,as well as her dog Gracie. The fuzzy dog is Andy,the big one is Olaf and the one with the red bandana collar is Roger. The kid with the eyepatch is Ed and….I don't know if you remember Rebecca too well." to which the boy raised an eyebrow and questioned as he glanced over at the girl in question "Rebecca? Oh yeah I do remember her,from the Fourth of July thing you invited me and Violette to years ago,we tried to teach you a little bit of French but it just wasn't working out well for you." which resulted in the girl blushing a little before Pierre looked around at everyone else and happily continued "I actually remember seeing all of y'all there too,I just don't remember really speaking with a lot of y'all aside from the ones I already knew,however I don't really remember… Ed was it?"

"It's because you don't,I didn't really want to make my presence well known around that time." Ed nonchalantly explained the reasoning for Pierre apparently not remembering him before the boy noticed another kid in a trench coat with his face covered up by a hat along with him strangely enough walking on all fours as he politely wondered due to curiosity and confusion "Who is the crawling kid with the-" only for him to be swiftly interrupted when the kid lifted up his hat to reveal a-

"Wolf?!" Pierre jumped back and exclaimed in shock as Lucy sighed and promptly explained the situation to the boy "That wolf over there is Herman,he's Ed's." before Ed himself calmly added afterwards in an attempt to calm Pierre down "Relax Pierre,he's harmless and very friendly with people. I like to keep him around because I found him when he was an abandoned cub. It's a long story that I'll have to tell you later believe me." and it seemed that this was indeed enough to calm down Pierre a notch as he took a deep breath and cautiously stated "All right,but please watch him or cover him up if he's let outside. I don't want him to be scaring the animals."

"You know speaking of which,what's with all the animals outside anyway? Even for a farm there seems to be a lot of them out there." Franklin perked up and asked out of curiosity at the mention to which Pierre hung his head a little and somberly explained "I see y'all have noticed,it's because there was a pretty bad storm that hit the farm a while ago,and it completely demolished the barn where some of the animals are kept. Unfortunately I haven't been given the time to rebuild the barn because of other farm duties getting in the way,and by the time I'm done with them,I'm way too tired to get started on the barn,and who knows if the animals will even want to get back in at this point?" before Freida frowned and sincerely replied "Aww,sorry Pierre,that definitely seems like too much work to do before you can even get started on the barn."

"You said it,it's like trying to do a batch of chores before you can do your homework. It can't be done!" Sally nodded her head and fiercely added in agreement before Claudia suddenly perked up and politely offered "Wait,w-why don't we help you rebuild it?" to which everyone gasped at the idea and turned to face Claudia before Marcie sighed and respectfully tried to decline the offer "Look Claude,it would be great if we could help out,but we aren't exactly the best when it comes to construction."

"Nuh-uh,Patty once t-told me that y'all rebuilt the whole c-community theater during that one Christmas." Claudia shook her head and immediately debunked Marcie's argument before the brunette perked up and couldn't help but agree with the reminder "Oh yeah,I guess we did,well Pierre would you be willing to accept some help while we're here?" to which the boy sighed and gratefully retorted "I really appreciate the offer Marcie,but honestly it's up to y'all if you want to help out."

"How hard could one barn even be? I'm up for it for the challenge alone." Lucy scoffed and egotistically showed her support for the idea before Peppermint Patty pointed over at the girl and nonchalantly added "What else can I say? She said my reasons before I could even say anything." to which Linus nodded his head and also decided to join in "I mean Pierre is our friend after all,it wouldn't hurt to quickly help him out and such before we hit the road."

"Hey I may not know Pierre,but these hands can work around some wood. I'll help." Ed chuckled and happily decided to help out as well before Charlie Brown smiled and added "Not only that but you have a thing with animals too,you can easily round them up into the barn when we're done." to which the hermit nonchalantly continued while he pointed over at the beagles "That too,and I'm sure some farm dogs could prove useful too. What do you fellers think?" which resulted in Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Roger and Gracie ecstatically nodding their heads in agreement,ironic coming from Andy and Olaf since they actually used to be farm dogs.

"Well I'd say that's already a big vote among us,let's get this job started." Franco stretched out his arms and cheerfully suggested as he began to make his way outside with everyone else following shortly afterwards aside from Herman while Pierre happily showed his gratitude "Thanks a lot for the help everyone,when we're done we'll sit inside and talk." before Ed cracked his knuckles and enthusiastically stated as he looked at the empty spot of land where the barn used to be "All right,let's get to it!" and the kids immediately proceeded to get work done on the new barn so they could talk to Pierre about the chateau.

_**Ed:**_

_Raise this barn._

_Raise this barn._

_One,two,three,four._

_Together we can raise this barn._

_One,two,three,four._

_Up,up,up go the beams._

_Hammer those joints._

_Work in teams._

_Turn 'em round quick by the right elbow._

_Grab a new partner here we go._

_Raise this barn._

_Raise this barn._

_One,two,three,four._

_Together we can raise this barn._

_One,two,three,four._

_Finish the frame._

_Recycling wood._

_Workin' hard._

_You're doin' good,_

_Turn 'em round quick by the right elbow._

_Grab a new partner here we go._

_Raise this barn._

_Raise this barn._

_One,two,three,four._

_Together we can raise this barn._

_One,two,three,four._

_Slats of food come off the ground._

_Hold 'em up and nail 'em down._

_Turn 'em round quick by the left elbow._

_Grab a new partner here we go._

_**Sally:**_

_Look at us we're family._

_**Charlie Brown:**_

_Workin' togehter thankfully._

_**Snoopy:**_

_We beagles we are proud to say._

_**Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Gracie and Roger:**_

_Stick together the beagle way._

_**Ed:**_

_Bow to your partner circle right._

_Get down if you're scared of heights._

_Forward,back and twirl around._

_That barn's gonna be the best in town._

_**Everyone:**_

_Raise this barn._

_Raise this barn._

_One,two,three,four._

_Together we can raise this barn._

_One,two,three,four._

_**Ed:**_

_Take your brushes young and old._

_Together paint it bright and bold._

_Turn 'em round quick by the left elbow._

_Grab a new partner here we go._

It didn't even take three hours of work for the kids to finally finish up the new barn and round up the loose animals thanks to their teamwork,and they all felt that it was time to take a break as they all began to head back inside.

_**Everyone:**_

_We raised this barn._

_We raised this barn._

_Yes we did._

_Together we sure raised this barn._

_Yes we did._

_Bein' together counts the most._

_We all came here from coast to coast._

_All we need to strive to be is part of the friendly family!_

_Yeah!_

**NEXT CHAPTER: DIRECTIONS TO THE CHATEAU**

"**Raise This Barn." **Written By Daniel Ingram.

©️Hasbro Studios


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19: SECRETS**

After the kids had successfully managed to help Pierre build a new barn after the old one had been severely damaged by a storm,they all felt like heading back inside for a while and properly catching up on things with their French friend,and more importantly in Ed's case see if he could help him out in terms of where he needed to go to find the chateau and his mother.

The group was sitting down at a table in the living room of Pierre's house and all sharing a pile of sausage and cheese as Linus politely stated with a slight sense of relief "Well it's good to know that you weren't caught off guard by Marcie getting a boyfriend after all this time,I won't lie,I was wondering how you were gonna react to it." to which Pieree shrugged his arms and nonchalantly explained himself and his reasoning for not getting worked up over it "It's honestly nothing Linus,that first trip of yall's was so many years ago that it was inevitable that we would move on,not to mention that we hadn't even caught up with each other until the 4'th of July,and even then not by much,and lastly a long distance relationship like that probably wouldn't even work in the long run." before Marcie smiled and happily replied with relief as well "In the end Pierre,I'm just glad that we can all move on and look back on that with innocent bliss,and to be perfectly honest,Franklin is the perfect boy for me right now."

"T-thanks Marcie." Franklin got a little red in the face and meekly thanked Marcie for the compliment before Sally wondered out of curiosity "You know Pierre that makes me wonder,are you in your OWN relationship now?" to which Charlie Brown timidly stammered in response while his eyes slightly widened "Uh Sally,are you sure that's an appropriate thing to ask out of the blue?" only for the blonde to shrug her arms and nonchalantly defend herself "Why not? Almost all of us are in one right now,what's the problem with asking?" which resulted in Claudia meekly responding while she blushed a little "I mean i-it c-could have come across as a l-little rude."

"Actually I was gonna bring that up Sally." Pierre suddenly spoke up and politely brushed the out of nowhere question aside before he promptly continued "I won't say that I'm in a relationship right now,but me and this girl at school are very close friends,and I wouldn't mind asking her out to Trevor B's concert in Paris later this week and seeing how things go from there." to which Lucy softly gasped and retorted out of surprise "Well would you listen to that,we're all going there at the end of this week too."

"Really? That's great!" Pierre smiled and happily stated equally as surprised before Peppermint Patty nodded her head and cheerfully continued "Yeah,we all managed to get in for free!" which resulted in Pierre raising an eyebrow and questioning in confusion "Huh? How'd y'all manage to do that?" to which Freida promptly explain their reasoning while she wrapped her arm around Charlie Brown and making him blush "Well that would be because Trevor B is this sweetheart's very own cousin." which resulted in Pierre spitting out his water before he exclaimed in shock "Trevor B is Charles's cousin?!"

"Yep." Charlie Brown sighed and nonchalantly confirmed that he was under his breath before Pierre calmed himself down and happily stated in response "Well that's something really nice to know,so what exactly has brought y'all over to France? It does seem to be an oddly specific time of year to come over." to which Claudia promptly explained their reasoning while Ed slowly started to take out his letter "W-well you see,we all got these free p-plane tickets in the m-mail from someone o-over here." before Skylar pointed over at Ed and continued when he noticed that he had brought out his letter "Yeah and Ed over there got a strange letter that was asking him to come over here. We're just trying to figure out where that place is."

"Yup,apparently it turns out that my mother could still be alive because the person in this letter claims to be my mother. She wants to meet me at this Chateau Of Harmony,but I have no idea where or what that place could even be." Ed nodded his head and anxiously explained the whole situation which resulted in Pierre suddenly raising an eyebrow and growing a huge look of concern at the mention which Lucy quickly noticed and nonchalantly brought it up "Hey Pierre,you feeling alright?"

"Ed,where did you say she wanted to meet you again?" Pierre ignored Lucy's concerns and instead questioned out of confusion to which Charlie Brown nervously gulped and meekly answered "H-he said the Chateau Of Harmony,is there something wrong?" only for Pierre to hold out his hand and politely ask with "Uh,may I please see the letter for a moment?" and before Ed could even answer,Gracie had already taken the letter from the boy's hands and had given it to Pierre across the table,allowing him the opportunity to take a look at it. As Pierre started to look over the letter and everyone stared at him patiently waiting for some kind of answer as to what was going on,Pierre began to develop an even greater look of confusion on his face which resulted in everyone else feeling a little unsettled and concerned,even Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger and Herman couldn't help but feel a little unnerved as well despite them just tagging along for the ride.

After about another minute it seemed that Pierre had finally finished looking over the letter as he sighed and calmly stated while he handed it back to Ed "Well Ed there's no misunderstanding after all,she definitely wants to meet you at the Chateau Of Harmony,but that does seem like an odd place to meet up at." to which Linus nervously asked while Pierre stood up and started to light a fire due to the sun beginning to set outside "How come Pierre? Is there any kind of danger that Ed could be getting himself into?" followed up by Rebecca perking up a little and frantically insisting that Pierre tell them the truth "Yeah please Pierre,if there's any kind of risk here,feel free to tell us."

However Pierre could only shake his head and instead reassure the kids that they would be fine as he started setting up some chairs around the fireplace for the kids and animals to sit in "Oh no,as far as I know there isn't any real danger to be found and I can give you some directions if y'all want,but I will say that I know some history around the chateau that makes it a very eerie place in France." to which Ed politely asked in response while he and the others started to sit down in the chairs "Would you mind telling us that Pierre? I really need to find my mother."

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE CURSED LAND**


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20: THE ROAD AHEAD**

It was looking to be a very busy day over at Paris's main city airport since a plane from Minnesota had just arrived and all of the passengers had already made their way to the merry go round to retrieve their luggage,and Tyrone just so happened to be one of them as he picked up a single black suitcase and headed towards the car area with the purpose of renting one. Tyrone once again wore a mainly calm and emotionless look on his face as he thought to himself while he looked at the parking lot outside through a window _"Alright bud you've made it France,if you're gonna catch these guys quick then you're gonna need a car. A simple one too." _before a woman's voice suddenly asked from the right with a French accent "Is there a rental I can interest you in sir?" to which Tyrone promptly turned his head to see just that.

"Actually you can miss." Tyrone politely answered as he took off his hat to try and appear more gentlemen like before he continued a lot more serious "I'm gonna cut to the chase,I'm a private detective from the states on a special assignment,and I need a rental that can look like the most unsuspecting car imaginable. Can you do that?" to which the woman nodded her head and happily confirmed that she could "I can do that just fine sir,may I also interest you in a map for this job if yours?" only for Tyrone to shake his head and politely decline "No thank you miss,although I will ask something else since I think you have a vast history of seeing people go in and out of here. If you were trying to track down twenty one escaped inmates that have fled into this country via stowaway on a cruise ship,where do you think they would go?"

Meanwhile back in the French countryside,the sun had long since set and the night sky was absolutely clear of any clouds and filled up to the brim with stars,all the while the gang along with Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Roger, Gracie and Herman were all gathered around the lit fireplace as Pierre calmly explained to them while the fire gave off a bright orange glow onto him and everyone else "I remember reading about the Chateau Of Harmony in history class at school,a long time ago before the first Great War,the chateau was a common gathering place for the common and rich folk of the country. It was used by many people for parties,weddings,banquets and auctions,and everyone was allowed there no matter how rich or poor they were. However when the first Great War eventually came,it was not only starting to be briefly used as a hospital for the sick and injured soilders,but eventually it became a full on fort that got so damaged by the war,that it was ultimately left abandoned and untouched after all this time,a true scar and reminder of war."

All of the kids were left completely baffled after hearing Pierre's story as Peppermint Patty blinked a few times before she meekly stammered "Well this sure took a drastic turn for the worst,last time the chateau was just surrounded in mystery due to a wonderful romance." only for Marcie to suddenly interrupt and finish her remark for her "But this time it's just a reminder of the damage of war." to which Freida nodded her head and somberly added in agreement "I know,it sounded like such a great place before the war hit it."

"If you ask me,I think they should have just fixed it up. It's not like they would have used it again when World War 2 came around." Lucy shrugged her arms and offered her own point of view on the story before Claudia meekly wondered out of a sense of nervousness "S-So you mean this is the place where Ed's m-mom wants to meet him? Isn't it all m-messed up from the war s-still?" to which Pierre nodded his head and regretfully confirmed "I'm afraid so Claudia,this place has a very rough history behind it because of the war,I don't get why anyone would want to meet there unless they want to finally fix it up." which prompted Charlie Brown to calmly add in agreement "I know,whatever wasn't blasted to bits is probably covered with enough dust to make PigPen blush."

"Ed I don't think this is such a good idea,that place sounds really sketchy." Sally pointed over at Ed and firmly stated in response before Linus and Eudora couldn't help but nod their heads in agreement while the former cautiously remarked "I think Sally may have a point there Ed,and there's probably a bunch of skeletons there from the war too. I don't mean to jump to unnecessarily bold conclusions just yet,but what if there's a slight chance that this whole thing could just be someone trying to trap you? In that kind of place,it wouldn't be too far fetched." to which Ed rolled his eyes and frankly disagreed with the whole notion "Oh come on Linus,I think that's definitely going too far. I mean who has enough of a grudge against me that they would go through the trouble of setting all this up? Arin and Mrs Hampton are likely still in jail at this point and couldn't possible set all this up behind bars,and I haven't even met Tarantula or any of those Lizard Ladies yet,thank god."

"Well I still don't know about this now,you didn't come all this way to get mugged or worse,maybe we should think this through." Charlie Brown slowly shook his head and politely insisted that Ed be more careful before Freida nodded her head and nervously added in agreement "Yeah I mean,I know you really want to see your mother again but,we also don't want to see you get hurt,we're your friends and we just to look out for you while you're here." to which Rebecca patted Ed's left shoulder and firmly added with a shaky voice "Especially me babe." However despite all of this,Ed still couldn't bring himself to agree with them as he sighed and politely offered his own point of view "Look guys,as someone who thinks you and the others back home mean the entire world to him,I understand your concerns,and honestly I'm kind of getting a little uneasy about this too,but I can't just walk away from this,not now,and quite frankly I've gone through a lot of dangerous stuff mind you. I survived getting my eye cut out and all them ghosts and monsters at that sleepover,and I think I can handle some potential nobody who I probably don't even know that could attempt to mug me." and it seemed that was just enough for the others to somewhat get behind his logic as they all smiled a little afterwards while Charlie Brown reluctantly decided to go along with the whole thing "I guess there's no stopping you Ed,and you are kinda right about going through all that stuff."

"You bet your bald head that I'm right." Ed chuckled and jokingly retorted in response which caused everyone in the room to start laughing at the joke,even Charlie Brown couldn't help but find it a little funny before Pierre cautiously stated while he began writing some stuff on a map "Charles was right,there is no stopping you Ed,here are some directions from here to the chateau. It ain't too far away and should take y'all about a few hours at the very least,and since it's way past dark I have rooms available in the house if y'all would like to stay the night."

"I was just thinking about getting some sleep on this chair believe it or not. I'll take the offer." Franco lightly chuckled and happily took the offer with a yawn which was followed up by everyone talking amongst themselves about it while Pierre handed Ed the map,and it was then and there that the road and route to the chateau was now in the palm of his hand. Danger or no danger,nothing was going to stop him as he looked at the marked route that appeared to lead straight into a large forest.

A few hours later into the night and almost everyone in the house was now fast asleep thanks to Pierre's generous hospitality,the boys were all sharing a bedroom as were all the girls,even Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger and Herman had flopped down into a literal dogpile and were snoozing in the boy's room. However the key sentence was that ALMOST everyone was asleep since Lucy had instead snuck outside into the backyard and appeared to be making a late night call on her phone as she quietly spoke "Hey Cobra,it's Lucy,I'm really sorry to be waking you up this late at night but it's urgent,I think tomorrow you and Rattler should try and contact the Spiders,cause there's a big chance that something BAD could be going on over here."

**NEXT CHAPTER: FAMILY'S CALL**


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21: FAMILY CALLS**

Pretty soon the crack of dawn had eventually come after a very long and soothing night of sleep and most of the kids were saying goodbye to Pierre for the time being as Claudia smiled and showed her gratitude for his hospitality "T-thanks a lot for letting us s-stay the night Pierre." before Skylar nodded his head and happily added in agreement "I could definitely say that again,you're a pretty cool guy." to which the red headed boy grew a small smirk and nonchalantly replied "It was no problem at all,it was very nice meeting the rest of y'all. I look forward to seeing you all at the concert."

"You know if I get the time I can see if Trevor can have you and that girl come backstage with us after the show." Charlie Brown suddenly perked up and generously offered at the mention to which Pierre immediately took him up on the offer with a shake of his hand "That would be very nice Charles." before Peppermint Patty lightly punched him in the arm and cheerfully remarked "I'm glad to see you haven't changed too much since last time Pierre,I'd offer you a tumble but I don't want to make things awkward between me and Franco." which prompted Franco to roll his eyes with a smile before Charlie Brown enthusiastically lamented "See you around Pierre. You can come down to Sparkyville anytime." to which Freida nodded her head and cheerfully added "Yeah and you can meet everyone else."

"I'll definitely be thinking about that in the future. See y'all around too." Pierre lightly chuckled and returned Charlie Brown's farewell while the kids began to pile into the car with the exception of Ed however who instead walked up to Pierre and happily showed his gratitude "Thanks a lot for the directions Pierre,if I didn't have this map who knows how long it could have taken me to find this place?" to which the boy's smile turned into a more serious frown while he warned "No problem Ed,but I must warn you that you be extremely careful at the chateau,and if there's a slight chance that you don't find who you're looking for inside,try going into the cellar because there's a secret passage that leads to a series of underground caverns from what I've heard." which prompted Ed to give a thumbs up and confidently reassure the boy "Got it. I can handle myself perfectly fine."

Meanwhile on the house's front porch,Lucy appeared to be talking with none other than Black Widow on her cellphone after Cobra had gotten into contact with her as the spider sternly questioned "Alright,what do you need to talk about?" to which Lucy took a deep breath and promptly explained herself "We seem to be doing just fine in France so far,but I can't help but think that Ed over here could be leading himself into a trap by someone who has a very bad grudge against him. So I was wondering if you and the spiders could figure out if Arin and Mrs Hampton are still in custody,because those are the only two people who could possibly set up something like this from what I know." to which Black Widow couldn't help but go along with the request with a raised eyebrow "Oh I've definitely heard about those two over the years,apparently they both have a very long prison sentence due to what they did. I'll head over to the juvenile detention center and see if Arin is still there,and then I'll see if Mrs Hampton is still at Minnesota's federal prison. If any of them have somehow been let out or even worse escaped,that boy better watch out."

"Ok that's good,thanks Widow." Lucy gave a sigh of relief and thanked Black Widow for the help before she hung up her phone and got in the car with everyone else as Linus politely questioned out of curiosity while Snoopy started to drive off "Lucy,who were you talking to over there?" to which the girl promptly made up a lie in response "I was just seeing how my Scheroder is doing back home. So where are we heading off to today?"

"I guess we're just gonna go follow this map to that chateau,it's only a few hours away." Rebecca shrugged her arms and calmly guessed as she looked over at Ed who was now studying Pierre's map to which the hermit lifted his head up and nonchalantly added "Yeah I guess we are,y'all can just drop me off at the entrance of the forest and go up to the hotel." which prompted Freida to raise an eyebrow and question in response "Are you sure about that Ed?"

"I can handle myself just fine in the woods,and I don't want to risk y'all getting hurt out there." Ed sighed and promptly explained himself as he leaned his seat back a little,put his feet up on the driver's seat and tried to rest his eyes for a bit before Sally shrugged and decided to go along with the idea "Hey I see no problem with that,I don't need to be walking around out there." to which Peppermint Patty stretched out her arms and cheerfully remarked "Well I guess that settles it then,but if you need us to come out there with you,feel free to ask us."

"Yeah,the very least we could do is help you out if you need it." Charlie Brown nodded his head and calmly added in agreement to which Linus smiled and poetically added "If there even comes a point where you're gonna want to do this together,all you have to do is ask." which suddenly caused Ed to open his eyes back up and meekly stammer in response "Together? I still can't believe I can say or hear that word in regards to people. Most of my life has been spent with animals and while they have their own valuable type of company that I won't pass any opportunity to partake in,I still like it when I can feel the same way about people. I don't wanna sound overly wishy-washy,but I can't help but get all tingly when we do stuff together like this." and everyone could only keep mostly silent in awe for a few moments after that before Linus sighed and happily agreed as he thought of all his friends and everyone else back home "Yeah Ed,I have to admit that I feel that too sometimes."

_**Linus:**_

_Every knight who is yearning for a cause that seems lost._

_Knows a bridge that is burning still can be crossed._

_**Charlie Brown:**_

_Gotta keep on believing 'cause believing can make it true._

_**Franklin And Skylar:**_

_You've got to just believe in you._

_**Franklin:**_

_There's a hero inside you._

_**Skylar:**_

_Who's been there all along._

_**Linus:**_

_Standing right there beside you._

_**Linus,Charlie Brown,Franklin and Skylar:**_

_Singing your song._

_**Peppermint Patty:**_

_With a sense of direction._

_**Marcie:**_

_And a whole new connection._

_**Everyone:**_

_We're gonna make it my friend!_

_**Ed:**_

_Together we're gonna make it._

_**Franco:**_

_Through the darkest night._

_**Franklin:**_

_Together we're gonna make it._

_**Charlie Brown:**_

_Gonna make it back home._

_**Freida:**_

_Together we're gonna make it._

_Gonna stand up and fight._

_**Skylar:**_

'_Cause before this is over._

_**Skylar and Claudia:**_

_Together._

_**Skylar:**_

_We'll make it right._

_**Everyone:**_

_When we get together it's tight._

_*Montage starts of iconic moments from Peanuts The Next Chapter season's 1-3 including fan episodes.*_

_**Franklin:**_

_Yes! Over rivers and valleys!_

_**Franco:**_

_Over mountains and streams!_

_Over tragic finales!_

_**Charlie Brown:**_

_Heart broken dreams!_

_**Charlie Brown And Linus:**_

_Ever true ever daring._

_**Skylar:**_

_Ever forever swearing._

_**Sally And Eudora:**_

_We're gonna make it my friend!_

_**Freida:**_

_Together we're gonna make it._

_**Snoopy,Andy,Olaf and Roger:**_

_We're about to get spayed!_

_**Gracie:**_

_Together we're gonna make it._

_**Snoopy,Andy,Olaf and Roger:**_

_Did they sharpen the blade?_

_**Lucy:**_

_Together we're gonna make it._

_**Snoopy,Andy,Olaf and Roger:**_

_But we won't be afraid._

_**Everyone:**_

_Gonna stand up together._

_Together we'll get it right._

_**Rebecca:**_

'_Cause at the end of the day!_

_We'll be together again!_

_**Everyone:**_

_Until then!_

_Together we're gonna make it!_

_Through the darkest night!_

_Together we're gonna make it!_

_Gonna make it back home!_

_Together we're gonna make it!_

_Gonna stand up and fight!_

'_Cause together is better!_

_Together we'll make it right!_

_Together we're gonna make it!_

_**Girls:**_

_Stand up!_

_**Everyone:**_

'_Cause together is better!_

_**Ed:**_

_Than whatever I've done yeah!_

_**Everyone:**_

_Together is better!_

_**Claudia:**_

_Than the power of one!_

_**Everyone:**_

_Together is better!_

_**Ed:**_

_Than whatever you might have planned._

_Here I stand!_

_**Everyone:**_

_In a foreign wonderland!_

_*Montage ends.*_

**NEXT CHAPTER: HIKE TIME**

"**Together." **Written By Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy.

©️Sony Music Entertainment


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22: HIKE TIME**

As the morning hours continued to pass on during the gang's drive around the countryside,the wide and open green fields that they were far too used to at this point had slowly but surely begin to turn into a barrage of rocky hills,tall trees,roaring rivers and towering mountains that had risen above the clouds and just barely cracked the sky,for they were perfectly following Pierre's edited map to a tee and had made sure not to stray away from the path whatsoever. The kids were completely awestruck at the vast variety of scenery they were now glancing at as Sally happily remarked while she and the others looked out their windows "Look at all those mountains big brother! They're huge!" to which her brother couldn't help but agree with a nod of his head "I know Sally,I've never seen mountains this tall before." before Linus more calmly retorted while he started taking pictures of them with his camera "Mother nature is nothing short of a beautiful mistress if you can get a look at her at the right time."

"It's hard to believe that some people have a career of themselves going up those things,one fall and you're dead!" Lucy rolled her eyes at her brother's statement and dumbfoundedly lamented the idea of mountain climbing only for Peppermint Patty to shrug her arms and respectfully disagree "Well I see that as an incredibly brave thing to do Lucille,can you imagine if we all went to camp and had to do a race up a mountain instead of down a river? That'd be the perfect climbing training for us." to which Marcie blinked a few times behind her glasses before she calmly disagreed "I don't know if I can keep my breakfast down at the mere thought of it sir."

"M-me too." Claudia meekly added in agreement as she and Skylar looked down at the river they were driving by before the latter nonchalantly continued "I'll take the river any day over a freezing cold mountain." to which Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes and firmly scolded with a small frown on her face "You three need to broaden your horizons a little bit,and stop calling me sir Marcie."

"What do you think about the scenery Ed? Make you feel a little nostalgic?" Rebecca looked over at her boyfriend and wondered out of curiosity only for the hermit to lightly nod his head and politely retort "Yeah a little,but it ain't too special,well for me at least since I'm used to it. Actually that reminds me of this time where me and my crew went up to the Alaskan mountains,we were trying to head over to Miami in Florida for the summer and so I could see if all the Florida Man stories are valid,but we ended up stowing away on the wrong cargo train. So we had to hide out in the mountains for three months." to which Herman timidly whined at the painful memory while everyone else softly gasped in response.

"That's kinda funny,that's exactly what happened to Andy and Olaf." Charlie Brown chucked and jokingly stated as he pointed at the two beagles in question before Freida nodded her head and promptly added "Yeah,he told me that they were trying to go to Needles to see Spike but they ended up getting lost and making their way to Alaska,and they even became sled dogs for a while." to which Ed looked at the two beagles and sympathetically lamented "Oh my lord,I'm so sorry you too. Oh by the way,did y'all know that Rosebud was actually a sled?" which resulted in everyone else in the car loudly retorting in unison along with Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Gracie and Roger's barks "Everyone knows that!"

"Oops." Ed got slightly red in the face and quietly whimpered to himself before Eudora wondered out of curiosity "So if we're seeing all these trees and mountains here,does that mean we're in the forest where the chateau is?" to which Charlie Brown calmly replied while he looked over the map "It's looking like from what the map and the GPS are saying,we have to exit the highway and go down a dirt road that leads into the main woodland area." before Franco suddenly perked up and enthusiastically stated as he pointed up ahead out his window "I see the road! Over there on the left!"

"Well speak of the devil,turn there Snoopy." Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and jokingly requested to which the beagle did so and began to lead them off the highway and into the main area of forest,and it was pretty quickly that the smooth feeling of the concrete road turned into an extremely bumpy and jittery mess as everyone could feel themselves jumping around and painfully hitting the car ceiling,but eventually as they drove on,the road began to come down to a slightly more calm crawl. About thirty more minutes of driving and scenery had gone by and it was then and there that Ed seemed to spot something up ahead that looked like an old sign as he perked up and requested "Hey Snoopy,I see something up ahead,can you slow down a bit?" to which the beagle promptly did so while Skylar asked out of slight confusion "What is it Ed? You see something?"

"Yeah,it looks like it could be a sign,maybe it could tell me how far I have left to go." Ed nodded his head and politely confirmed that he did before he stepped out of the car and walked towards the sign,and now that he was closer to it,he could see that it was indeed very old looking,it was purely made out of now rotten wood and overrun with vines and leaves for the most part,but what was most hypnotizing about the sign,was that there was something written in what looked like gold letters along with an arrow pointing north that Ed read out "Chateau d'harmonie dans le nord." before he stepped back to the car and nonchalantly stated "Well gang,I think I made it,from what this sign says it looks like I just need to keep heading north."

"Alright,then let's-" Rebecca tried to suggest that they all go on ahead and make their way to the chateau only for Ed to cut her off and politely suggest instead "But…..I think I should just go on ahead by myself." to which the blonde raised an eyebrow and questioned in confusion "What? But babe I thought we were gonna do this together?" before the hermit sighed and explained himself "Yes but,I just don't want any of y'all to get hurt out here. With all due respect,y'all are not as well trained in surviving out here as I am,and I just want y'all to be safe. So just head up to the hotel,and I'll be back in no time."

Everyone was left completely silent after Ed had explained his reasoning for wanting to go at it alone for a few moments before Rebecca sighed and ultimately caved in "Alright babe,you win,but don't even think about not coming back." which was followed by her tossing the boy her cellphone while she continued "I'm giving you my phone so I can call you when we get to the hotel,since you don't have your own,I better get an answer or I'm burning your hat in your sleep." to which Ed chuckled and promised as he made a cross motion over his chest "Cross my heart,and hope to die."

"Good." Rebecca sighed and replied with a bit of a relieved smile on her face before Herman suddenly stepped out of the car with his trench coat and hat now taken off while he joined a dumbfounded Ed's side,and that was all the boy needed to know that he was gonna come along with him,and this one of the few cases where he couldn't bring himself to say no as he slowly crouched down and happily stated while he ruffled the wolf's fur "I guess I walked myself into a trap when I said I should go at it alone,of course you can come with me buddy."

"Hey Ed!" The voice of Lucy suddenly called out as she got out of the car and walked up to the hermit before she sighed and quietly stated in an attempt to not worry the others "Just be careful out there,because I still have a feeling that something bad is at play here. It's the same feeling I had when me and the serpents found out that Tarantula had broken out of her prison,and while you are possibly the weirdest and most out there kid I've ever met,that doesn't mean I don't want you to stay safe." and Ed was left positively astounded that someone like Lucy would say those kind of words to him,granted he was well aware that she had changed a lot over the years,he still wasn't expecting her to show that kind of compassion toward him regardless as he gulped and politely choked out "Y-Yeah I-I will. I'll be careful."

Afterwards Lucy could only smile as she pulled the boy's eyepatch back like a rubber band before she got back in the car without saying a word while Peppermint Patty cheerfully stated as Snoopy started the car back up "Hey Ed! Tell your mother we all said hi!" which was followed up by Freida adding equally as enthusiastic "Tell her about everything you've done! I know she'll be proud!" before Charlie Brown called out while they slowly started to drive off "Good luck Ed!"

"_Good luck!" _Snoopy laughed and happily exclaimed before Andy happily added afterwards _"Make your mamma proud!" _ to which Olaf encouragingly responded _"Don't be a stranger!" _which was followed up by Gracie sternly demanding _"Do not come back to us without that lady!" _all before Roger finally stated just before the car was out of Ed and Herman's sight _"Don't be a stranger!" _

"DON'T WORRY I WON'T!" Ed shouted at the top of his lungs one final time just before the car was completely out of his sight,leaving only him and his wolf companion in the middle of the woods like old times,in a sense it was almost like the choice to build the chateau out in the wilderness was tailor made for Ed and Ed alone,but to him that didn't matter at the current moment,for all that mattered right now was getting to that chateau and seeing his mother again as he turned around and took a deep breath before he calmly stated "Okay,I just have to keep going north,and I'll find the chateau in no time. You ready Herman?" and Herman of course only give a salute with a friendly little smile since he was willing to follow Ed to the edge of the earth like the friend he was to which the hermit took one last deep breath before he slowly began to walk.

_**Ed:**_

_Every inch of me is trembling,but not from the cold._

_Something is familiar,like a dream I can reach but not quite hold._

_I can sense you there,like a friend I've always known._

_I'm arriving,and it feels like I am home._

_I have always been a fortress._

_Cold secrets deep inside._

_You have secrets too._

_But you don't have to hide._

_Show yourself._

_I'm dying to meet you._

_Show yourself._

_It's your turn._

_Are you the one I've been looking for all of my life?_

_Show yourself._

_I'm ready to learn._

_Ah-ah-ah-ah._

_(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.)_

It was at this point that Ed's slow walking slowly began to transform into a slow jog that started to get ever so faster over time.

_I've never felt so certain,all my life I've been torn._

_But I'm here for a reason,could it be the reason I was born?_

_I have always been so different,normal rules did not apply._

_Is this the day?_

_Are you the way,__I finally find out why?_

_Show yourself!_

_I'm no longer trembling!_

_Here I am,I've come so far!_

_You are the answer I've waited for all of my life! _

_Oh show yourself!_

_Let me see who you are._

_Come to me now._

_Open your door._

_Don't make me wait,one moment more._

_Come to me now._

_Open your door._

_Don't make me wait,one moment more._

Ed then started to imagine himself meeting his mother at the tallest tower of the chateau.

_(Where the north wind meets the sea.)_

_Ah-ah-ah-ah._

_(There's a river.)_

_Ah-ah-ah-ah._

_(Full of memory. Memory. Memory.)_

_**Ed's Mother:**_

_Come my darling homeward bound._

_**Ed:**_

_I am found!_

Ed then snapped out of his fantasy as he climbed atop of Herman's back and rode off into the rest of the woods to make it to the chateau.

_Show yourself!_

_Step into your power!_

_Grow yourself!_

_Into something new!_

_(You are the one you've been waiting for!)_

_All of my life!_

_(All of your life!)_

_Oh show yourself!_

_You are,are,oh!_

**NEXT CHAPTER: DETECTIVE TYRONE**

"**Show Yourself." **Written By Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

©️Walt Disney Music Company.

**Author's Note: As soon as I heard "Show Yourself" for the first time,I knew that I had to put it in this story and knew just where to put it. I love this song that much. Same for another one in a later chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23: TYRONE'S FOLLY**

In the middle of what looked like a seemingly average marketplace in a small French town,Tyrone appeared to be walking around and talking to people in the hopes of finding out the directions to where the escaped inmates could have gone to,for the car saleswoman at the airport in Paris told him the most likely location where the escaped inmates may have headed off to,but unfortunately aside from reaching the French countryside,he didn't seem to be having too much luck finding the actual place the saleswoman told him about,and him talking to various people about it didn't make things any easier for him.

After yet another person couldn't seem to tell him the proper directions to the inmates' possible location,Tyrone hung his head and bitterly muttered to himself with gritted teeth "Damn it,I'm having no luck out here,maybe I should have asked that lady back there for some proper directions other than just going to the countryside. I could use a drink." before he tried to make his way toward the nearest bar for a drink only for a boy's voice to suddenly halt him "Excuse me sir,are you looking for something?" to which the man stopped in his tracks and turned around to see a boy with short auburn hair and a basket full of farm supplies and food in his hands,or better yet known to certain people as Pierre.

Tyrone wasn't too keen on talking to a kid out here or god forbid even asking for directions,but since he hadn't been having any kind of luck when it came to asking any adults for help,he felt that he didn't have anything left to lose as he reluctantly answered while he looked down at the boy "Well I definitely am looking for something,but it definitely ain't here at a marketplace,it's a place I need to be at." to which Pierre raised an eyebrow and politely offered in response "If you are having trouble with directions sir,I could maybe give you some,I do tend to know my way around the countryside." which resulted in Tyrone raising an eyebrow himself as he retorted "First I'd like to know this,what's a kid like you doing in a place like this without any parents by the looks of it?"

"I'm just picking up some stuff for my home and farm,it's only a little bit of a walk from here. Now what are YOU doing out here sir?" Pierre nonchalantly explained his reasoning for being out in the marketplace by himself along with a question of his own before Tyrone rolled his eyes and reluctantly obliged to answer "Well I guess I walked into that one,the name's Tyrone,I'm a private detective from the United States on a special assignment here. Apparently twenty one inmates have escaped from a federal prison in Minnesota and have likely come out here to hide,and I think I may know where they have exactly gone but I'm not having any luck with directions." to which Pierre nervously gulped and meekly replied "I suppose if you tell me where that place is,maybe I would know where to go from here."

Afterwards Tyrone could only keep himself silent for a few long moments before he looked up at the sky and nonchalantly stated "The Chateau Of Harmony." to which Pierre immediately felt his body tense up and his blood run cold after hearing that as he dropped his basket on the ground,and Tyrone was very quick to notice this in his peripheral vision as he looked down at the kid and questioned with concern "Hey kid,you feeling alright there?" which prompted the boy to frantically wonder "The Chateau Of Harmony sir? Is that what you said?"

"Yeah,what about it? Do you know the directions?" Tyrone nodded his head and calmly asked in response before Pierre quickly explained himself in a panic while he took out a map from his basket and began editing it with a spare pen he brought "Oh yes sir I do know,but some friends of mine have gone out to the chateau themselves earlier this morning,and if you're saying that these inmates are there,they could be in grave danger!" to which Tyrone gritted his teeth get again and quietly lamented to himself "Shit,this thing just got a lot more dangerous." before he calmly continued at a much audible volume "What are the names of your friends kid? If I can get to the chateau quick enough,I'll probably be able to save them."

"Charlie Brown, Freida, Linus, Eudora, Peppermint Patty, Franco, Marcie, Franklin, Claudia, Skylar, Lucy, Rebecca, Ed and Sally,as well as their dogs Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Roger and Gracie." Pierre frantically told Tyrone the names of all his friends that were heading to the chateau as he finished editing his map and handed it over to the man before he continued "They told me before they left that they were gonna be staying at a hotel in a village past the forest where the chateau is,if they're somehow not at the chateau,then that's where they are." to which Tyrone sighed and calmly stated while he looked over the map "Then I guess I better hurry then,this is at least a three hour drive."

"Please help my friends if they're in any danger sir." Pierre fearfully pleaded on the verge of tears as Tyrone began to walk away to which the man gave a thumbs up and confidently reassured the boy "Don't worry kid,they'll be perfectly safe and sound before they even know it." before he was completely out of Pierre's sight and had left the boy in the marketplace by himself once again while the detective made his way through the crowd with the intent to head back to his car in the parking lot,unaware that a shadowy figure was now following him.

Once Tyrone had made it back to his car and placed his hand on the door handle,he would be suddenly cut off when he felt the cold front end of a revolver touch his back followed by what sounded like another man's very brash and beaten up voice quietly threaten "Just where do you think you're going Mr Detective? If you think you're gonna find my boss's hideout and drag her back to her cell,you got another thing coming." only for Tyrone to quickly lift him off his feet with a sweep kick before he hit the ground with a loud thud and lost grip of his revolver.

The thug wasn't even able to catch his breath for a single second before Tyrone lept on top of him and calmly threatened back while he pointed the thug's own revolver at his head "Don't monologue so much,it'll bite you in the ass if you ain't careful enough,so I'm gonna be a nice man and ask that you tell me your boss's plans along with where the other inmates are,or I'll make sure this whole parking lot looks like a suicide scene." before he maliciously clicked the gun and counted down "1. 2-" only for the thug to fearfully cower out and tell him the truth "Ok,ok,you got me,it's that kid Ed that boy told you about. My boss has been learning French from some of us ever since she got into prison,and had even managed to develop an artificial accent overtime. She's been keeping tabs on the boy the whole time she was locked up,and waited for just the right time for her along with twenty more of us to bust out with a prison riot. We took a lot of weapons from under their noses,stowawayed on a cruise ship and decided to hide out here,and she decided to lure him out to the chateau with a letter and a set of plane tickets so she can kill him there,and when she's done,she'll go after all those other friends of his too."

"Good,now answer this,why go through all this trouble to escape and do all this to a bunch of kids?" Tyrone gave off a devilish smirk and asked with a light chuckle to which the thug promptly answered due to the impending threat of him getting a bullet in his head "Revenge,revenge for what I don't know. She only told us that we could escape and be free if we followed her and didn't ask any questions,I'm just following orders here,but I guess I will say now that I've been caught,she plans to flee the country at an abandoned trainyard when it's all over,and all that I can ask now that I've been caught,is for you to take that bitch out. I never liked her that much anyway and just came along for the privilege to escape." all before Tyrone nonchalantly reassured the thug that he would "Don't worry,I will." which was followed up by him knocking the thug out with a smack of his gun.

After Tyrone had taken care of the thug and was now free to think the whole situation over,he put the revolver in his pocket and quietly lamented to himself "Oh boy,I now have the lives of even more kids on my hands,but this time I will keep them safe and not let any of them die. I can't just call the entire police force and have them storm the chateau,that'd be a dead giveaway to what we're doing,and I can't just barge into the chateau myself either,so I guess all that I can do now is go to that hotel." before he put the knocked out inmate in the backseat of his car and proceeded to get into the driver's seat himself,for his next destination was the kids' hotel.

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE CHATEAU OF HARMONY**

**Author's Note**

**Have you correctly guessed who broke out yet? Like I said before anyone who can correctly figure it out will get a shoutout in the chapter they're revealed in.**


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 24: THE CHATEAU OF HARMONY**

So while Tyrone was continuing to embark on his own investigation in regards to the escaped inmates and while the kids were on their way to the hotel they would be staying at until the day they would head off to Paris for Trevor's concert,Ed was unknowingly walking himself into a trap as he continued to hike through the woods and make his way towards the chateau,he had long since been used to the woodland environment and had no problem trekking through all the trees and small fields that he and Herman came across. Eventually the smooth feeling of the forest floor started to feel more like old fashioned stone along with its appearance changing to just that as well,and Ed was very quick to notice this as he looked down at the ground and brought it up "Hey Herman,the ground's changing to stone,I'm gonna take this as a sign that we're getting closer."

"Well I on the other hand think that means we're here,take a look at this." Herman shook his head and respectfully disagreed from the other side of a corner to which Ed slowly walked up ahead to see what looked like a stone walkway that led up to none other than an abandoned chateau that was at least four stories tall from what it looked like,and it also appeared to have a lot of holes in the roof as well as the front of the house,which was most likely damage from World War 1,and the chateau also appeared to be overrun with numerous vines and tree branches stretching into the windows.

Ed was absolutely awestruck at the state of the chateau as he quietly whistled in bewilderment at the sight of it "Holy smokes Herman,I think this is it. Leave it to Snoopy to drive us into a jungle in the middle of France to find this." to which Herman lightly chuckled and joked while he and the boy started to slowly walk up to the front door "Those dogs can do anything,makes me jealous I wasn't bred to be a dog." only for Ed to shake his head and respectfully disagree "Nah,you're just fine as a wolf,but still look at this place. It definitely looks like it could have been around since the 11'th century,I wouldn't be surprised if the person who first owned this place was part of the crusades." before Herman rolled his eyes and dumbfoundedly retorted "Even if your orphanage had a library I still can't believe you know all this stuff."

Once Ed and Herman eventually reached the chateau's front door,the former took a deep breath out of anticipation before he slowly creaked it open to see what awaited them inside,and just like he was expecting the place was an absolute mess on the inside,the air stunk of mold and rotting wood,all the furniture was either flipped or rolled over,misplaced or just covered in a thick layer of dust,numerous sunbeams shined down inside through the holes in the roof,and there were even what appeared to be bones of what could be assumed to be soldiers lying on the floor.

It was an absolute disgrace to the original beauty of the chateau from when it was still being used and lived in as Herman scoffed and bitterly lamented while he covered his nose "Well I can definitely see why they didn't fix this place up,looks and smells worse than I could have ever imagined." to which Ed couldn't help but agree with his wolf companion while he also covered his nose and started to walk around the messy floor "Seriously this place is beyond repairs,my mother sure picked a bad place to meet up at. But still,I'm gonna find her no matter what and learn everything. You look down here,and I'll look around at the upper floors."

"You got it." Herman saluted and nonchalantly agreed to do so before the two of them split up and looked around the chateau,and as they continued to search and search through bedrooms,dining rooms,kitchens,the music hall,auction room and even a small wine cellar in one of the bedrooms,all they kept finding were more dusty and misplaced furniture and not another person there with them at all,but Ed still kept out hope that he was gonna reunite with his mother today,because Pierre did tell him that there was also a secret passage way of tunnels that could be accessed through the cellar outside,so if he didn't find her in the actual chateau,he was way more than likely to find her in the tunnels instead.

Later on in the day Ed seemed to find himself on the last floor of the chateau and was slowly going up a spiral staircase that led to the tallest tower,for if he was gonna find his mother in this place,she was likely gonna be there as he took a deep breath and quietly told himself "Ok Edward,if she's somehow not here,just go down to the cellar and go through the tunnels. Just keep that in mind." before he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and felt his entire body tense up when he heard what sounded like very faint but still audible humming come from up ahead,the very first sign of someone else being there he had ever seen since he arrived,and that was all the boy needed to know that this was indeed his mother as he grew a wide smile on his face and started to sprint up the stairway as fast as he could until he reached a single closed door and burst through it with all his might to find himself in what appeared to be an attic,and more importantly he saw what looked like a thin,cloaked figure standing in front of a sunlit window and facing away from him,and she also appeared to have stopped humming as well.

Ed was feeling all sorts of emotions racing through his mind and they were all unapologetically happy ones for all the right reasons,and he felt like he was gonna shout out that he was here or that he was gonna run right up to her to give her a hug,but in the end all he could do was muster out a quiet yet still audible "Hi mom." to which the figure happily declared in response "Oh my dear Edward,I have been waiting for so long to see you again after all these years,and I am so happy to see that you never believed that I was gone forever." before she more devilishly continued while she slowly began to turn around and reveal herself as Ed's look of happiness began to morph into one of dread,fear and confusion "Afterall,it is the job of the parents to teach their children about who...they should trust." and once the figure had turned around to fully reveal herself,Ed was absolutely mortified by who he was now looking at.

"Y-you?! You're…..Mrs Hampton."

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE UGLY TRUTH**

Shoutouts to HPDrummeman and Dolores-the-Dip for correctly guessing the culprit.


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25: THE HORRIBLE TRUTH**

Ed couldn't even begin to fathom what was happening to him,he had spent so much time traveling overseas with the purpose of searching for his mother in France with his friends,and now that he had finally made it to the chateau and reunited with who he was looking for,he was absolutely appalled and horrified to see that Mrs Hampton was somehow there instead of his mother as the woman calmly remarked in a slimy voice "I can't believe how much you've grown since the last time I've seen you,it feels just like yesterday when you stormed my orphanage and took my Rebecca away from me." to which Ed nervously stammered on the verge of hyperventilating "W-what's going on here? Last time I heard about you,you were still carrying out your prison sentence,and where'd you take my mother? She's still alive and I know it!" only for the lady to shake her head and devilishly retort "Oh are you really that stupid? I set the whole thing up! But one thing at a time,first off,how am I here?"

"Yeah that's probably what I want to know the most you witch!" Ed sneered and sternly demanded with gritted teeth before Mrs Hampton smiled and told the boy her story while she started walking around the room to reveal a small cage by the window "Ever since you got the cops to storm my orphanage after you,Rebecca and those animals took your leave of the place,I never stopped thinking about getting my revenge on you lot. I spent the last set of years of my life plotting it all in the confines of my prison cell,and when some acquaintances of mine would come talk on the phone with me on visits,I simply asked that they kept taps on you and report everything they figured out back to me,including your history,friends and family,while I would do the rest myself. I then started learning French from some of the other inmates along with me developing a little bit of an accent overtime,and that seemed to give me the perfect idea,so one night I decided to take twenty inmates and stage a prison riot so huge that all the guards would have to come and call the whole thing off,while me and my new crew would steal some of their weapons and sneak over here unnoticed."

"Well I guess that means it's time for me to send you back,and for you to tell me where my mother is!" Ed snarled and angrily threatened in response with a balled up fist as he ran up to the lady and tried to deliver a punch to the face,only for her to suddenly grab his fist before it could hit her before she quickly tossed him into an old table nearby that shattered into a million pieces on impact to which the boy coughed and yelped in pain while the woman sighed and stated in a bored sounding voice "Oh yeah,I forgot to mention that I learned a good amount of hand to hand combat while I was imprisoned,really helped me out in the long run."

"That's not gonna stop me you know. I'm taking you back,and Rebecca will never answer to you again!" Ed confidently stated as he slowly stepped out of the rubble and regained his posture before he put his knocked off hat back on and continued "Even if it means that my search for my mother will be postponed,you're still a criminal who needs to pay for all that you've done." only for Mrs Hampton to pucker her lip and nonchalantly disagree "On the contrary,you're wrong,I don't want that loudmouth brat of a girl back,all I want is my revenge on you on every possible level imaginable. And speaking of which,there is no mother of yours to be found,you're just delusional." to which the hermit balled up his fist yet again and firmly demanded "Oh yeah,then prove it lady!"

Mrs Hampton then closed her eyes and started to lightly chuckle to herself before she reopened her eyes and dropped a huge bombshell on the boy "You really wanna know why? Ok then,I'll tell you why. I'm the one who sent you the letter and the plane tickets!" to which Ed gasped out of shock while his one remaining eye widened and the lady continued "Thanks to my acquaintances reporting everything about you to me,I quickly figured out that you were an orphan who lived in Sparkyville's own orphanage until you left the place by your own free will,and that gave me the idea to lure you over here with the number one thing an orphan could possibly want,a chance to have a real mother,along with a set of plane tickets so some of your friends could be suckered in too,and now that you're here,I can kill you in cold blood,go after the rest of your friends afterwards and flee the country via the abandoned train yard."

Ed was now starting to feel the same burst of emotions race through his mind,but now they were all ones of fear,dread and sadness,because now he had to fully accept that his mother never called him over here at all and that he now had no idea where she could be as he slowly began to sink to his knees on the verge of tears while Mrs Hampton continued to rub it in "Your mother is dead Edward,she died in that very same fire with your own father from smoke inhalation,and you were so desperate to see her again that you fell right into my trap. I would take this opportunity to go ahead and kill you myself,but I think I'll just let the explosives that I've stolen and planted here do it for me." only for her and Ed to suddenly be caught off guard when a faint ringing sound could be heard.

"Huh?" Ed lifted his head up and questioned out of slight confusion before he quickly realized that it was coming from his pocket and that it was actually Rebecca's phone as he frantically took it out and whispered to himself in a panic "Not now Rebecca!" only for Mrs Hampton to suddenly swipe it away from him and devilishly remark while she looked at the phone's screen "Well would you look at this,it looks like my dear Rebecca is calling you from a hotel! And here I was thinking I'd have to go and force their location out of you." before she threw the phone on the ground and allowed Ed the opportunity to put it back in his pocket.

"Look Mrs Hampton,I'm not gonna sit here and try to act like you're a good person deep down,you're not,you're vile,abusive and nasty to the people around you and you deserve a lot of what's coming to you,but I still gotta say that you are making things so much worse for yourself if you decide to go through with all this." Ed sighed and calmly tried to persuade Mrs Hampton to cut off her whole scheme to which the woman merely sneered and sternly refused "Don't you try to swindle your way out of this one,you were the one who caused me to rot away in prison for all those years,and you and your friends will die for that." only for Ed to clench his fist while he stood up and tried once again.

_**Ed:**_

_The path of hate is a dangerous track._

_You take one step and it's hard to turn back._

_It pulls you along and though it seems wrong it feels right._

_Don't you see this path you're on leaves a permanent mark?_

_It feels good at first,then it slowly turns dark._

_With each passing day you're further astray from the light._

_Suddenly you lose your way and lose the thread._

_Lose your cool,then lose your head._

_Every loss is harder to excuse._

_Then you'll see you'll lose your faith and lose your soul._

_Till you lose complete control and realize there's nothing left to lose._

_Nothing left to lose._

"Lady,trust me,becoming even more of a villain isn't the answer." Ed grabbed ahold of Mrs Hampton's hand just as she took out what looked like a bomb timer from her pocket only for her to brush the boy's hand away and angrily ask in response "Is that what you think I'm doing?"

_**Mrs Hampton:**_

_The path I'm on is a path paved in black._

_I'm taking that road and I'm not looking back._

_Each twist and each turn bestrayed where I'm yearning to go._

_Yes it's true my path is dark but I see where it ends._

_My rivals will fall as my power ascends._

_Despise me? That's fine._

_I'm taking what's mine even so._

_Not like you,you lost your nerve,you lost the game._

_But you and I we're not the same._

_I'm not lost,this fate was mine to choose._

_So I chose to lose my doubts and lose my chains._

_Lose each weakness that remains,now that I have nothing left to lose._

_Nothing left to lose._

It was then and there that Mrs Hampton grabbed ahold of Ed's hand and tried to drag him over to the cage,much to his reluctance to do so.

_**Ed:**_

_You have so much to hold onto._

_**Mrs Hampton:**_

_I only want my rightful dues._

_**Ed:**_

_Listen please you've lost your grip and lost your mind._

_**Mrs Hampton:**_

_(Lose my own blues!)_

_**Ed:**_

_Alls not lost don't be so blind._

_**Mrs Hampton:**_

_(I choose!)_

_**Ed:**_

_Cut your losses,drop the IOU'S._

_**Mrs Hampton:**_

_(I refuse!)_

_**Ed:**_

_Oh-oh-oh! Choose!_

_**Mrs Hampton:**_

_I'll lose no tears and lose no sleep._

_What I want I'll take and keep._

_**Ed:**_

_(It's time for you to choose!)_

_**Mrs Hampton:**_

_You can stop the-_

_**Both:**_

_turning of the screws!_

It was this point that Mrs Hampton had finally managed to forcefully shove Ed into the cage and lock it up tight with a key before she picked it up and sternly stated "You'll stay in that cage until this is done,and just incase you think of escaping." all before the woman opened the window and tossed the key right out,completely preventing Ed from escaping which was followed up by her setting the timer for the bombs.

_**Mrs Hampton:**_

_Now I have nothing left to lose._

Afterwards Mrs Hampton proceeded to quickly take her leave of the attic and proceed to make her way out of the chateau before it would be blown sky high,all the while Ed hung his head in utter defeat for a few moments before he suddenly realized that Herman could probably help him get out as he perked up and called out at the top of his lungs "HERMAN! GET UP HERE I NEED YOUR HELP!" to which the wolf immediately heard him from one of the lower floors and quickly made his way up to the tower,for their very lives were now hanging in the balance.

**NEXT CHAPTER: BUSTING OUT**

"**Nothing Left To Lose." **Written By Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

©️Walt Disney Music Company.

Walt Disney Teleivison.


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26: BUSTING OUT**

Now even though Mrs Hampton had already left the chateau with full confidence that this was gonna be Ed's last day on Earth due to her locking him up in a cage in a building that was set to blow with explosives,she didn't take into account the fact that he had come there with Herman and didn't even see him on the way out,so she was gonna be in for quite a rude awakening if Ed was gonna be able to bust himself out,keyword being if since he was on a very severe time crunch now. Once Herman had made it up to the attic and burst through the door to see what was going on,he was absolutely bewildered and dumbfounded to see Ed frantically trying to open up a cage he appeared to be locked in as the wolf gasped and asked while he walked up to the cage's door "What the heck?! What happened to you?! Where's your mother?!" only for Ed to nervously decline to answer in a panic "We'll talk about this latter,you gotta get me out of this cage! The chateau is gonna blow any minute!" to which a still confused Herman nodded his head and used his strong teeth to rip the door right off,allowing the boy an opportunity to climb out.

Ed and Herman immediately wasted no time talking and instead ran down the spiral staircase and the floors like their lives depended on it,and once they made it to the bottom floor and saw the front door still open,the two of them tried to make a break for it only for a sudden explosion of fire to knock them off their feet and send them flying,even Ed's fedora and eyepatch were knocked right off and blown off to somewhere else,and more and more explosions began to come up one after the other as the entire chateau was quickly becoming a raging inferno.

Meanwhile on the same highway that the kids were driving on their way to the forest where the chateau was,Tyrone appeared to be driving down it in his car and was quickly caught off guard by a massive pillar of smoke and fire rising from the trees up ahead as he gritted his teeth and thought to himself while he increased his speed and went down the dirt roadway the kids took earlier _"Oh no,if that's what I think it is,I hope I'm not too late." _

Back at the utter hellscape that was formerly known as the Chateau Of Harmony,everything in sight was on fire and whatever wasn't was now falling apart even more so than before while Ed and Herman were lying on the floor after getting knocked back by the first explosion,and after about a few more moments of silence they finally started to slowly get themselves back up while the former nervously stated "Oh man,everything's getting incerated here!" before Herman fearfully whimpered while he tried to avoid any of the falling debris "What are we gonna do?!" to which Ed frantically suggested on a dime "Uh,I know! Let's go through the cellar! Usually places like this have a second entrance other than an outside one!"

"But where would it be?! We can't stay here too long or all this smoke is gonna kill us!" Herman frantically questioned in response while he began coughing due to the increasing amount of smoke that was forming from the fire to which Ed started looking around at a breakneck pace to try and find some kind of entrance to the cellar,and thankfully he didn't have to look too long because he soon spotted what looked like a down going staircase in the distance as he pointed at it and exclaimed "There! I see a staircase over there,that has to lead to the cellar! Come on!"

"Right!" Herman nodded his head and instantly agreed to do so before the two of them bolted over to the staircase and went down it as fast as they could,and pretty soon they managed to come across a door that led straight to the cellar just like they were hoping it would,but just as they were gonna briefly celebrate with a high five,they would both be cut off when they suddenly heard another explosion from way up high along with the cellar ceiling started to rumble like it was about to cave in to which Ed asked in bewilderment "Jeez,how many explosions does this lady need?"

"I don't know,but we better skedaddle or we're gonna be flattened!" Herman frantically suggested in response as he pointed up at the slowly crumbling ceiling to which Ed quickly made his way over to the cellar door and tried to open it,only for it to stay shut and not budge an inch to which the hermit threw his arms up in the air and angrily exclaimed "Oh of course the cellar had to be locked! Now what are we gonna do-" before he suddenly realized that they could go through the secret passage and brought it up "Wait a second,we can go through the secret passage Pierre told me about!"

"Well genius where do you think that is?" Herman rolled his eyes and bitterly yapped in response while Ed started looking around for where the secret passage could have been,and after about a few seconds he suddenly noticed a lazily built brick wall tucked away in a corner as he quickly walked over to it and pulled out one of the loose bricks in the wall in the hopes of it being the entrance,and much to his relief,pulling out the brick seemed to reveal none other than a passageway as he happily called out to Herman "This is it! Come on let's move!" which was followed by him crawling over the rest of the bricks with Herman following suit. However just when the two of them thought that they were finally out of harm's way for the time being,they still realized that they had some hurdles to jump through when they felt even more rumbling than before along with them seeing some of the ceiling cave in behind them to which Ed shouted at the top of his lungs "RUN FOR IT!" before the two of them started running as fast as they could while more of the ceiling started to cave in.

Ed and Herman kept on running and running for as far as their legs could possibly go with the destruction behind them not seeming to be slowing down anytime soon,but it was when they entered what looked like a small cave area underground and saw a shining light up ahead past a rock bridge,that they thought that they had found an exit as Ed smiled and cheerfully stated "Hey Herman,I think I see a light up ahead! I think we're gonna make it!" only for Herman to not give off any kind of response to which the hermit stopped in his tracks once he made it across the bridge and looked behind him to see that Herman was lagging behind due to exhaustion,and what seemed to make things even worse was that yet another explosion from above had caused a giant piece of rock to slowly start coming down from the cave ceiling before it eventually crashed into the bridge and left only nothing but air and a deep,dark abyss below.

"Oh come on!" Ed angrily lamented after seeing the bridge be destroyed as he shook his fists up at the ceiling before he looked over at his wolf companion and encouragingly shouted "Herman,you're gonna have to jump buddy! Come on the exit is right here!" and since more and more of the cave was starting to collapse thanks to the explosions,Herman knew that he would have to take a leap of faith as he took a deep breath and stepped back as far as he could go before he ran as fast as he could toward the edge and leapt towards the other side of the bridge.

However it was right then and there that Ed came to a horrifying realization,because when taking into account how far the wolf had backed away due to the collapsing cave,he realized that Herman wasn't gonna be able to make the jump unless he caught him at just the right time as he gasped in a panic and grabbed ahold of Herman's legs just before he missed the mark,only for another problem to quickly reveal its ugly face. For it turned out that Herman's weight was slowly beginning to drag him as well as Ed off the cliff,and despite just how much the boy was trying to pull himself and his friend back up,it was clear to Herman that Ed was gonna be pulled down with him if this kept up,and that he had to make a special decision.

It was at this point that Ed was dragged as close to the edge of the cliff as he could possibly go without falling off as he exclaimed in a pained and frustrated tone of voice while he closed his eyes "Oh my god Herman,why are you so heavy?! You need to lose some pounds when we get out of here!" before he reopened his eyes to see a strange sight in front of him,and that was Herman looking up at him with sad eyes yet simultaneously wearing a smile on his face to which the boy nervously confronted him about it "Herman,why are you looking at me like that?" only for the wolf to meekly ask instead with a slightly shaky voice "Do you remember the day we first met? When you found me in the woods?"

"Yes I do,what about it?" Ed timidly responded with a raised eyebrow while he continued to try and pull his friend up only for Herman to not respond and instead continue smiling at the boy,much to his own confusion as he wondered what was going on "Herman what are you-" before he suddenly connected the dots together and realized what the wolf was going to do with a jolt to which he gritted his teeth and fearfully demanded "Herman,do not let go,please." only for yet another explosion from above to loosen Ed's grip with Herman's legs and cause yet even more rocks to start falling down,making it even more obvious what needed to be done.

"Ed….you'll always be my best friend. Always remember that." Herman quietly requested as he slowly began to willingly loosen his grip while tears started to well up in his eyes to which an equally as tearful Ed timidly retorted "Please Herman…..please no-" only for him to be cut off when the wolf had completely let go of his hands and had fallen down into the dark abyss below which caused the hermit to immediately shout at the top of his lungs "HERMAN! HERMAN!" before some of the falling rocks landed on the cliff and caused it to break apart,taking Ed down with them into the abyss before he could even get back up.

Meanwhile back on the surface,the chateau had been completely enveloped in flames from top to bottom,every single painting,pot,pan or piece of furniture that was inside was now nothing but ash,with only a few pieces of paper and other lightweight items managing to fly out,one of these was none other than Ed's fedora that was now halfway burnt off and laying in some of the now flaming grass. As the chateau continued to burn like the raging inferno that it was,Tyrone suddenly walked up to Ed's fedora and picked it up off the ground before he sighed with disappointment "Why? Why did it have to come to this? I really hope any of you kids weren't in there,I could never forgive myself if y'all were."

**NEXT CHAPTER: DARKNESS**


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27: IMPENDING DARKNESS**

It was a little bit past sunset in the evening time and the rest of the kids were sitting around in the living room of their hotel room and doing other things,for it took them about an extra hour to get to the hotel after they dropped Ed and Herman off in the forest where the chateau was. Charlie Brown and Freida were looking through a window to see some of the lovely evening scenery,Linus, Eudora, Sally, Marcie, Franklin, Claudia, Skylar, Peppermint Patty and Franco were sitting down and watching some TV,with Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger and Woodstock sitting down next to them,Lucy was talking on her cellphone on the patio and lastly Rebecca was sitting on the couch and slowly becoming a nervous wreck due to Ed not answering her numerous phone calls.

"I don't get this,he said he would be answering my calls. This isn't like him at all." Rebecca nervously lamented as she glanced over at the hotel's phone on the table next to the couch to which Linus calmly tried to rationalize the whole situation "I think he may have just put your phone on silent so he could fully have some alone time with his mother,at least that's what I think." which resulted in Rebecca forcing herself to agree with a sigh "Yeah I guess. I still just hope he's doing alright." before Peppermint Patty shrugged her arms and retorted "I don't see what the big fuss is,he can handle himself perfectly fine in the woods."

"I think it's more so that we're in a different country and that the chateau is a pretty suspicious place sir." Marcie looked over at her friend and respectfully disagreed with her statement before Sally firmly wondered in response "I still don't get why she wanted to meet him all the way out there,couldn't they have met up at a carnival or someplace nice?" to which Eudora calmly guessed while she looked around at some of the free brochures the hotel offered "Maybe she's just as much of a nature nut as he is and wanted to be close to it?"

"Stuff like that can run in the family." Franco lightly nodded his head and couldn't help but agree with Eudora before Rebecca grabbed ahold of the phone again with the intent to make another call which Skylar quickly noticed and decided to confront her about it "Are you seriously about to make another call? I seriously doubt he's gonna answer." only for Rebecca to nod her head and nonchalantly confirm that she was "Yup,I'm not stopping until I know that he's alright." to which Claudia sighed and politely offered her own point of view "I'm sure that if E-Ed got himself into t-trouble,t-that Herman would come over here and t-tell us." and surprisingly enough Rebecca actually agreed with that statement while she held the phone up to her ear and waited for an answer "Yeah he would,but I still can't be taking any chances here."

However much to Rebecca's disappointment,the phone would yet again go to voicemail instead of her getting an actual answer as she dropped the phone on the couch and meekly whimpered on the verge of tears "Still no answer,I know I'm probably being over dramatic here,but I just don't want anything bad to happen to him." before Roger suddenly got up on her lap and licked her on the cheek in an attempt to apply some comfort,for he was feeling genuinely worried for his owner and her boyfriend,and didn't want to leave her side for the time being.

Charlie Brown and Freida were also continuing to look out one of the windows and take a look at some of the lovely scenery they had as the former quietly told his girlfriend "I'm feeling kind of bad for Rebecca here,all she wants is to know if Ed's alright,why I felt the same way about her when I first found out that she was still alive." to which Freida lovingly kissed him on the cheek before agreeing with him "Same here sweetie,it's natural for anyone to worry over their significant other. I'd be feeling the exact same way if it was you out there by yourself." which resulted in the round headed kid blushing before happily thanking Freida with a hug that she quickly joined in on "Thanks a lot Freida,I'm very happy to be here with you."

"Me too." Freida smiled and happily added in agreement before the two of them let go of each other and continued to look outside,all the while Lucy continued to talk on her cellphone phone on the patio as she happily stated "The trip has been going very good so far,I'm actually surprised I've been able to stomach all these beagles so far." only for her to be suddenly cut off when she saw that she was getting another call from Cobra to which she politely excused herself "Oh sorry Schroeder,I'm getting another call,I'll call you right back." and after she hung up on her boyfriend and answered the new call,she was immediately being assaulted by a panicking Cobra yelling "Lucy! I got really bad news here! Widow told me that she got in contact with the warden at Minnesota's federal prison,and it turns out that Mrs Hampton has escaped with twenty other prisoners and is hiding out in France!"

"What?!" Lucy gasped and frantically exclaimed in response on the verge of nearly dropping her phone before Cobra nervously continued "You better warn Ed and the others girl! If she's over there in France and is indeed trying to trap him like you suspected,who knows what could happen!" to which Lucy gritted her teeth and heroically reassured Cobra that she would "Yeah! I'll tell everyone right away,tell Widow I said thanks for the help!" all before she hung up and burst back inside as she frantically demanded "Rebecca! Call Ed again!"

"What? Why? I just did and he still didn't answer." Rebecca raised an eyebrow and questioned Lucy's demands in confusion to which the typically crabby girl held up her phone and explained herself in a panic "I just a call from Cobra,and she told me that Ed's walking himself into a trap,because Mrs-" only for the girl to be suddenly cut off when their hotel room down slammed open before a hooded figure walked in with a gun and shot a tranquilizer dart right into Lucy's neck,which resulted in the girl instantly fainting on the ground,the rest of the kids gasping in shock and the beagles fearfully yiping.

"Hey what's the big i-" Peppermint Patty got off the couch and fiercely tried to confront the sudden intruder only for the figure to fire yet another tranquilizer dart at the tomboy and knock her out in an instant before she quickly fired a dart at everyone else in the room before they could even react,even Woodstock wasn't spared,and once it looked like everyone was fully knocked out,the figure slowly walked up to Rebecca and devilishly stated as they took off the hood to reveal none other than Mrs Hampton wearing a maniacal grin "Hello my dear,surprised to see your mommy?"

Afterwards a bunch of other men with tranquilizer guns started to storm inside the hotel room as one of them walked up to the lady and questioned "Alright boss,everyone else in the hotel has been tranquilized and there are no witnesses to be found,what do we do now?" which prompted the woman to calmly demand while her grin reduced itself to an emotionless frown "We'll take the kids and the dogs to the trainyard,I'll personally deal with them there while the rest of you set up the getaway train. My revenge is finally at hand." to which the men promptly took the kids and the beagles and started to load them up in a black van in the parking lot while Mrs Hampton stole one of the other cars and drove off to the countryside,with her henchmen shortly following suit in the van with the kids.

**NEXT CHAPTER: ONWARD**


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 28: ONWARD**

Deep down in the dark underground caverns of France,Ed was lying face down on the ground with loads of rocks and rubble from the ceiling piled on top of him,he was covered from head to toe with bruises along with his clothes being absolutely filthy and torn up,he had also lost his eye patch and his hat earlier in the fire which resulted in his hair being even more messy than before. The boy continued to motionlessly lay there for about another minute until he slowly started to open his sunken eyes to be immediately greeted by an immense and throbbing pain all over his body as he grunted and moaned while he slowly began to lift himself up off the ground before he started to look around the nearly destroyed cave,it didn't take him too long to notice some holes in the ceiling that showed nothing but a starry night sky on the verge of turning into dawn outside,along with him seeing that the way out that he saw earlier was way up high now compared to before,he was gonna need to climb up a wall in order to get out.

"Oh man,how long have I been out?" Ed grunted and asked himself in an extremely pained and tired tone of voice before he suddenly remembered that Herman willingly let go of his hands and fell down into the abyss as he gasped at the realization and frantically called out "Herman! Where are you?!" only for him to receive no response of any kind aside from the echoing of his voice off the cave walls which resulted in the boy beginning to walk around the cave in the hopes of finding his friend. Ed continued to call and call again and again for his friend only for dead silence to follow suit each and every time,but it was when he peeked his head behind a corner and saw something up ahead that he stopped dead in his tracks and silenced himself for all the wrong reasons due to what he saw in front of him.

Ed saw what looked like to be a large black lump in the darkness up ahead,he couldn't make out a lot of the details due to how dark it was in the cave,but he still had an extremely unsettled look on his face due to what he assumed it was,and those fears of his would sadly be confirmed to be true when the slowly descending moon's light illuminated the shapeless blob. Herman's body was lying on its side and was surrounded and covered to the brim with smashed rock pieces,and his fur was mangled and dirty,he also appeared to be completely motionless and silent as he faced away from Ed's shocked and horrified demeanor. Ed couldn't believe what he was looking at,and he was so shocked by the sight in front of him,that he couldn't even bring himself to form a single word or expression on his face while tears slowly began to well up in his eyes before he fell to his knees and started to quietly weep to himself.

Many thoughts soon started to fill up into Ed's mind and they were all ones of grief and dread,his best friend that had stuck with him through thick and thin for most of his life was now dead before his very eyes,and judging by how long he was knocked out,he could only assume that the rest of his friends had already fallen suit by Mrs Hampton's own hands as the intensity of his weeping started to increase. Ed continued to weep and weep for what felt like an eternity before he eventually managed to control himself a little as he sat back against a nearby wall before he slowly looked up at the exit.

_**Ed:**_

_I've seen dark before,but not like this._

_This is cold,this is empty,this is numb._

_The life I knew is over,the lights are out._

_Hello darkness,I'm ready to succumb._

_I follow you around,I always have._

_But you've gone to a place I cannot find._

_This grief,has a gravity,it pulls me down._

_But a tiny voice,whispers in my mind._

_You are lost._

_Hope is gone._

_But you must...go on._

_And do the next right thing._

_Can there be a day beyond this night?_

_I don't know anymore what is true._

_I can't find my direction I'm all alone._

_The only star that guided me was you._

It was at this point that Ed could feel himself slowly beginning to stand up and make his way to the wall up ahead that led to the exit before he proceeded to slowly climb up.

_How to rise from the floor,when it's not you I'm rising for._

_Just do the next right thing._

_Take a step._

_Step again._

_It is all that I can to do the next right thing._

_I won't look too far ahead._

_It's too much for me to take._

_But break it down to this next breath._

_This next step._

_This next choice is one that I can make._

After Ed had managed to climb his way up to the cliff side where the exit was,he started to feel himself become more determined as he slowly walked towards the exit to find himself on another cliff outside where the sun was beginning to rise.

_So I'll walk through this night._

_Stumbling blindly toward the light._

_And do the next right thing._

_And with the dawn._

_What comes then,when it's clear that everything will never be the same again?_

_Then I'll make the choice._

_To hear that voice._

_And do the next right thing._

As Ed could feel the warmth and light of the morning sun being shine on himself,he looked off into the forest down below while he firmly told himself in determination "Don't worry everyone,I will stop her no matter what." before he proceeded to make his way down the cliffside with one destination in mind,the abandoned trainyard.

Meanwhile back at the hotel,Tyrone had since made it there and managed to wake everyone else that was tranquizled by Mrs Hampton's henchmen,and in return the workers allowed him to take a look at the security cameras,or more specifically the one that showed the kids being knocked out and taken away by Mrs Hampton and her men,and it was when he came across the footage where the lady stated that they would be taking the kids to the trainyard,he knew exactly where he needed to go next.

**NEXT CHAPTER: INFLITRATION**

"**The Next Right Thing." **Written By Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

©️Walt Disney Music Company.

**Author's Note:**

**Like with "Show Yourself" this is a song that I knew I had to include and where to put it after I first heard it. Also the next set of chapters is where things get very action packed. **


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 29: INFILTRATING THE CAMP**

Hidden way deep in the forests of France was an old and abandoned train yard that was nothing short of an absolute mess visually since there were numerous train cars that were either displaced onto the wrong tracks or straight up lying on the ground,and in the middle of a medium sized shack by a small lake,the kids along with the beagles and Woodstock appeared to be sitting on the floor and were still knocked out from their tranquilizer darts,and they also seemed to have their arms and legs tied up together with rope,completely preventing them from escaping.

The kids continued to sit there completely motionless until Charlie Brown felt his eyes start to open along with himself feeling extremely woozy and tired,only for those feelings to quickly wash away and turn into fear when he realized that he was tied up as he frantically tried to undo the ropes to no avail before he noticed that everyone else was in there with him aside from Ed to which he nervously called out in an attempt to wake them up "Hey guys? Guys? Y'all better wake up!" which prompted Peppermint Patty to slowly open her eyes before she too realized that she was tied up.

"What the?! Hey wake up everyone,we're tied up!" Peppermint Patty gasped and angrily questioned in shock when she saw what was going on which caused everyone else that was asleep to instantly awaken like a megaphone was just blown right into their eardrums,and it didn't take them too long to realize that they were all tied up before they all started panicking at the seems.

"What's going on?! Why are we tied up?!" Freida fearfully whimpered on the verge of tears to which Linus promptly tried to remember what had happened before he fell unconscious "I don't know Freida,I remember that we were all sitting in the hotel room and then all of a sudden this person burst in and shot something at Lucy!" before the boy's sister furiously lamented while she tried endlessly to loosen her ropes to no avail "I think that must have been a tranquilizer or something,I swear when I get out of here I'm gonna slug the no good cretin that did this!" which prompted Peppermint Patty to fiercely agree in response "You better save some room for me Lucy! This is messed up!"

"I'm scared big brother! What are we gonna do?!" Sally nervously choked out as tears began to well up in her eyes while her stomach violently churned before Skylar added equally as fearful on the verge of hyperventilating "You can say that again Sally! We're trapped here!" to which Claudia tightly closed her eyes and timidly whimpered to herself "Its only a dream Claudia,it's only a dream,please wake up,please wake up." only for Charlie Brown to try and remain rational during the whole situation "Gang,I honestly think the best thing we can do right now is to remain calm-"

"How in the world are we supposed to do that? We have no idea where we are and why we're all tied up like this!" Franklin scoffed and bitterly interrupted Charlie Brown's attempt to calm everyone down to which Franco and Eudora frantically nodded their heads in agreement before Rebecca angrily lamented while she hung her head down low "Great,just great! First Ed doesn't bother to answer any of my calls,and now we're all trapped in a dark and dusty shack in the middle of nowhere! What else could go wrong for us?" only for Marcie to suddenly perk up and try to suggest a potential way out "Wait! I think I may have thought of a way out! Let's see if-"

***CREAK***

However it was then and there that Marcie's attempt to offer up an escape plan would suddenly be interrupted when the door to the shack slowly opened and let in a massive barrage of light from the outside while a hooded figure slowly walked inside along with another man as Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie and Roger started violently shaking out of fear while Peppermint Patty gritted her teeth and angrily scolded "Hey you! What's the big idea knocking us out like that huh?!" only for the figure and the man to not answer to which Lucy fiercely growled and demanded "ANSWER HER YOU BLOCKHEADS!"

"Hmph,what cocky little shits." The hooded figure lightly chuckled and retorted with a clear sense of enjoyment in her voice before Rebecca suddenly perked up and nervously stated in response "Wait a second….that voice." to which the cloaked figure chuckled once again while she lifted up her hood to reveal none other than Mrs Hampton to the kids which caused Rebecca to gasp and exclaim in shock "You?! What are you doing here?!"

"What is it Rebecca? D-do you know this person?" Eudora raised an eyebrow and nervously wondered out of curiosity to which the blonde nodded her head and fearfully confirmed that she did "Y-Yeah,I know her all too well,that's the person who kept me in that orphanage for all those years." which caused the rest of the kids aside from Lucy to gasp at the revelation before Mrs Hampton devilishly greeted her former prisoner "Hello Rebecca,it's a wonderful pleasure to see you again after all these years,and it's also great to be able to meet all your other friends too." only for Rebecca to scoff and fiercely ask in response "What are you doing over here? You should still be carrying out your prison sentence,they wouldn't let someone like you out so early."

"And you'd be right my dear,I left the place myself and took twenty other inmates with me so we could have a little…..vacation in France." Mrs Hampton nodded her head and smugly agreed with Rebecca's suspicions to which Charlie Brown gasped and nervously stammered at the revelation "So you're saying that you busted out of prison with that many inmates and came all the way over here with them? You're really crossing the line here-" only for the boy to be rudely interrupted when Mrs Hampton suddenly smacked him in the face which caused the other kids to gasp in shock before Freida very much unlike her snapped at the lady "Hey! Don't you lay a finger on him!"

"Yeah only we can do that!" Peppermint Patty nodded her head and fiercely added in agreement to which Sally balled up her tied up fists to the best of her ability and angrily threatened "You're so lucky that our dogs are tied up,if they weren't,you'd be mincemeat right now!" only for the beagles to nervously show off a smile that said "She's lying." while Mrs Hampton glanced over at them before Rebecca gulped and tried to threaten with a shaky voice "Oh yeah,well when Ed finds out that we're gone and that you're here,he's gonna slug you to kingdom come like he did before!"

"Oh I don't think he will,I already made sure of that." Mrs Hampton evilly chuckled and frankly downplayed Rebecca's threat which caused the blonde's body to tense up at the implication before she nervously asked "Wh…..what did you do?" only for the lady to keep herself silent to which Charlie Brown angrily demanded to know "What did you do to him?!" which resulted in the woman grinning menacingly before she told the kids everything.

Meanwhile outside in the empty train yard,Tyrone appeared to be sneaking around in a field of tall grass as he slowly tried to make his way over to the shack where the kids and beagles were held up,for he suspected that was the most likely place they would be locked up in compared to everywhere else. The man continued to cautiously tread through the grass and study the area around him until he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he had heard something else lurking behind him and getting ever closer,and once it seemed like whatever was stalking him was just about to attack,Tyrone quickly sprung into action and grabbed the creature by the leg and threw it right in front of him,only for him to be shocked yet relieved when he laid eyes on what appeared to be a very bruised and messy boy with two missing front teeth,a missing eye,torn clothes and ruffled black hair looking up at him and breathing heavily.

"What the hell?" Tyrone raised an eyebrow and quietly questioned to himself before Ed suddenly punched him in the face and tried to escape only for the man to hold him down and firmly scold "Hey,hey,hey,hold on a minute here. What are you doing out here all by yourself?" to which the boy nonchalantly asked in return instead of answering "Well I could ask the same to you mister,what are you doing out here in this trainyard? You working for the lady out here and keeping watch?"

"What? Hell no." Tyrone scoffed and sternly confirmed that he wasn't working for Mrs Hampton before he pulled out his detective badge and calmly continued "I'm Tyrone Watson,I'm a private detective from Minnesota,I'm here on a special assignment to bring in Mrs Hampton and twenty other escaped inmates. I learned about them from a thumb drive the prison warden gave me. Now what about you kid?" which prompted Ed to cautiously give out his identity and explain his motives while he picked himself off the ground "I'm...Edward Fitzherbet sir,but you can just call me Ed because if flows off the tongue better. I'm out here because I need to stop this crazy witch of a lady from fleeing the country. She lured me and some of my friends to a chateau out here so she could kill me,but as you can see that didn't exactly work out…..well in turns of me I guess."

"Hmph,well it looks like you're one of the kids that one fella told me about,and it also seems that we have a common enemy and goal." Tyrone lightly chuckled and playfully remarked with an ever so slight grin on his face before Ed couldn't help but agree with the man "Yeah I guess so,I'm hunting her down because she…..she killed my best friend in the caves under the chateau,and she's probably already killed the others too." only for Tyrone to sigh and try to lift up the boy's spirit "Actually that may not be entirely true,you see I went over to the hotel where they were staying at and took a look at some of the security footage. It turns out Mrs Hampton and some of her men stormed the place and merely knocked them out with tranquilizers and took them here." to which Ed perked up and happily cheered at the possibility of the others still being alive "Wait,they're still alive?!"

"It is a possibility,and they're more than likely being kept in that shack over there." Tyrone nodded his head and calmly replied while he pointed over at the shack up ahead before Ed pounded his fists together and heroically stated "Alrighty then,let's head over there and bust them out!" to which the older man smirked and couldn't help but humor the enthusiastic kid "Let's do that indeed kid,if my calculations are correct,then this part of the train yard should be empty due to her men loading up their getaway train a little ways from here. If it should happen to leave before we're able to bust your friends out,all we have to do is follow the tracker I placed on it and slug them on board,why I already took one of them out at a marketplace and brought them to the nearest police station for safe keeping."

"Wow,you're good mister." A frankly impressed Ed chuckled and happily complimented Tyrone's detective skills to which the man egotistically stated in response "I'm a detective kid,it's what I do,now let's get your friends out." which caused Ed to heroically chant in agreement before they made their way towards the shack "Right!"

**NEXT CHAPTER: ESCAPE**


	30. Chapter 30

**CHAPTER 30: FLYING THE COOP**

"You mean to tell us that it was a setup the whole time?!" Charlie Brown asked in shock and disbelief after he and the others were told almost everything by Mrs Hampton before Linus bitterly scolded himself in anger "I should have known that those plane tickets were too good to be true,how did we not see the warning signs from there?" to which Mrs Hampton lightly chuckled and smugly guessed a reason for them "Because Ed was so desperate to have anything resembling a family that he took the chance the second he saw the possibility of his mother still being alive,and that led to his untimely demise." only for Rebecca to angrily disagree with the lady's whole notion "No! You're lying! Ed is still alive! I know it!" which prompted the rest of the kids to nod their heads in support.

"Yeah,it's gonna take a lot more than a measly crook like you to take that boy down." Franklin looked up at Mrs Hampton and fiercely added in agreement before Peppermint Patty angrily threatened in response while she yet again tried to loosen her ropes "And even if you did manage to off him,that'd only make the beat down you're gonna get even worse!" only for the woman to shake her head and politely disagree as she slowly started to make her way toward the front door "Still so blind children,soon enough you'll see that I was telling the truth all along. Well it's been a positively lovely experience getting to meet all of you,but I seem to have a train to catch." before she more sternly commanded the man who had entered the shack with her "Gibson,take care of them and catch up to the train when you're done."

"My pleasure miss." Gibson evilly chuckled and happily agreed to do so in a Mafia style accent after Mrs Hampton had left the shack and began to make her way towards her getaway train before the man took out what looked like a bomb from his pocket,planted it on the floor and set up a timer on it to which the kids fearfully gasped and the beagles started whining at the realization that they were about to die as Claudia, Gracie and Skylar huddled up together as well as Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock, Sally and Freida, Andy and Olaf, and lastly Roger and Rebecca,all the while Peppermint Patty and Lucy tried endlessly to break out of their ropes.

"I love you Charlie Brown." Freida fearfully whimpered as tears began to form in her and Sally's eyes only for the round headed boy to be unable to bring himself to say anything in response before Marcie suddenly whispered in an attempt to not alert Gibson "Don't give up everyone,I think I got an idea that can get us out of this,but we gotta be really quick." to which everyone lifted their heads up and looked over at the brunette with slightly more uplifted spirits while Peppermint Patty and Lucy stopped fussing around with their ropes.

"What's the plan Marcie?" Franklin sighed and cautiously asked for the details regarding Marcie's escape plan to which the girl glanced over at the beagles and stated "Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger,you guys try using your teeth to bite through your ropes,then four of y'all will distract Gibson while one you will unite our ropes. Then we'll all take out Gibson and toss the bomb outside before it explodes." and with seemingly no other options available combined with the quickly ticking clock of impending death,the beagles instantly went along with the idea and started using their teeth to bite through their ropes before anyone could even object,and thankfully their sharp teeth went right through the ropes like it was nothing as their hands and legs were quickly set free,much to their relief.

"Nice going you guys!" Peppermint Patty smiled and happily whispered after seeing the beagles easily break through their ropes before Snoopy, Andy, Olaf and Gracie started to slowly sneak up behind Gibson,who was blissfully looking out a now opened window up ahead and being completely unaware of their escape plan,all while Roger began to carefully untie everyone else's rope,and once Lucy was free of her bounds,she started to quickly look around the shack in the hopes of finding something she could use to knock out Gibson.

"You know,it ain't anything personal,I'm just following orders." Gibson sighed and calmly tried to make some small talk with the kids before he suddenly felt an incredibly sharp pain on both of his legs as he instantly screamed at the top of his lungs before he quickly looked down to see Snoopy and Gracie biting his left leg and Olaf and Andy biting his left leg to which the man frantically started trying to kick them off while Peppermint Patty quickly tossed the bomb outside into the lake and everyone else started cheering in determination,and as the man tried to continually pry the dogs off his legs,he ended up tripping on himself and falling on the floor with a loud thud like a klutz because it was clear that they had a very tight grip on him.

"Why you little cretins!" Gibson angrily exclaimed on the verge of turning bright red in the face due to humiliation as the beagles finally let go of his legs before Lucy suddenly called out to the man "Hey mister!" which prompted him to slowly lift his head up to see what was going on only for him to be swiftly knocked out when Lucy smacked him across the chops with an old baseball bat that shattered into a million pieces on impact,all before the kids heard a loud booming sound out of nowhere that shook the cabin and caused them all to tense up.

"What was that?!" Claudia gasped and frantically wondered after she had nearly lost her balance due to the shaking to which Lucy nonchalantly guessed when she looked out the window to see the lake uncontrollably splashing around "I think that was the bomb Claudia." all before the couples in the room hugged and kissed each other out of relief,even Snoopy couldn't help but share some love towards his brothers, Gracie, Woodstock and even his owner,they were all finally safe again and out of the frying pan.

Meanwhile back outside,Ed and Tyrone had both gotten considerably closer to the shack due to them carefully sneaking around in the tall grass that lay in the yard,only for them to also be caught off guard and blown back by the bomb suddenly exploding in the lake as the hermit meekly wondered while he and Tyrone regained their posture "What the heck was that all about?" to which the older man glanced over at the lake and confidently guessed "Considering the power of the shockwave and blowback we felt along with the manor that the water is splashing around,I can only guess that that was a bomb,and seeing as how we just saw Mrs Hampton walk out of the shack and head towards her train,that can only mean that the rest of your friends busted themselves out. Come on,let's say hi to them."

**NEXT CHAPTER: REUNION**


	31. Chapter 31

**CHAPTER 31: REUNION**

After the kids had thankfully managed to take out Gibson and save themselves from an abrupt death via explosives,all they could really do at this point was just sit around and think about what their trip to France had become as Linus sighed and meekly asked while he and the kids looked around the shack to see if there was anything interesting inside "Why is it that whenever we travel somewhere,things have to go horribly wrong? That's becoming as much of a trend as all of us sleeping together and something going wrong too." to which Marcie calmly lamented in response "If it would guarantee that I'd be safe the whole time,I'd gladly travel somewhere alone for a day. At the very least." before Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes and firmly disagreed with her friend "Nah,I'd say us going through all this stuff just makes us tougher and gives us more grit."

"I don't know Patty,I may be slightly more used to this stuff now,but that doesn't mean I like it or want to do more of it. Not at all!" Sally shook her head and fiercely disagreed as she looked at herself in a nearby mirror before Claudia calmly asked Skylar when she saw his breathing start to calm down and reduce to a more normal crawl "Are you feeling alright Skylar? Your breathing I mean?" to which the boy nodded his head and confirmed that he was with relief "Yeah,it's looking fine right now,back there I was nearly about to have an asthma attack." which was followed up by Charlie Brown stating with a slight sense of awe while he looked down at Gibson's knocked out body "I still can't believe we managed to take out this guy,he just seems like a very tough guy."

"I just can't believe that they had it in them to be biters. I always thought Olaf would only bite if he would be attacked by food." Eudora nodded her head and added equally as bewildered while she pointed over at Snoopy, Andy, Olaf and Gracie chatting with Roger and Woodstock before Freida shrugged her arms and joked with a light chuckle "Well when the going gets tough,you have to loosen your teeth every once in a while." to which Franco promptly added in agreement "Or loosen yourself up too."

"_So was y'all's first distraction idea to literally bite him on the legs?" _Roger asked his friends out of curiosity as he pointed over to the knocked out man's swollen looking legs to which Gracie looked over at the man as well and politely retorted _"Well we were on a very tight time crunch,we didn't exactly have enough time to think of something else." _before Snoopy nodded his head and nonchalantly added in agreement _"Yeah,if we had the time to think of something up,I'd just drop his trousers." _which prompted the rest of the dogs to laugh at the joke before Olaf calmly stated in response _"Well I think there's at least something here that we can all agree on."_

"_What's that?" _Andy looked up at his brother and wondered out of curiosity to which the round beagle nonchalantly guessed _"He tasted terrible." _which prompted the rest of the dogs to instantly agree with the sny remark over each other before Lucy pointed over at Gibson and asked "So what are we gonna do with that lady's minion down there? We can't just leave him here." only for Franklin to meekly suggest while he looked at his cellphone "Well the most obvious thing to do is to get the cops over here,but it's looking like we aren't getting any service out here. Makes me wonder what we actually are gonna do."

"Don't worry,I'll deal with him." The voice of a significantly much older man suddenly answered Franklin's question as everyone perked up out of surprise and looked over to the front door to see a tall man with a brown trench coat,round glasses and short hair standing at the doorway to which Lucy immediately took action and yelled while she tossed a nearby book at the man's head and knocked off his glasses "Hey look she brought some backup!" which prompted the man to fiercely try to calm them down in response after recovering from the attack "Hey! Take it easy there! I'm on your side!"

"And why should we believe you mister? How do we know you're not some backup for incase this guy here couldn't do his job right?" Peppermint Patty scoffed and bitterly asked in return while she picked up a slab of wood off the ground and armed herself with it before the man calmly explained why as he took out his detective badge and showed it off "Because if I really wanted each and every one of y'all in this very room to be dead,I would've already been heading back to the airport. The names Tyrone,I'm a private detective from the states on a special assignment here,I'm tracking down Mrs Hampton and twenty escaped inmates from a federal prison in Minnesota,and by the looks of things,it seems that two are already taken down."

The kids were certainly left a little suspicious after hearing Tyrone's explanation for why he was here,but on the other had they were still mostly convinced that he was not there to harm them as Peppermint Patty cautiously stated as she dropped the slap of wood on the ground "Well….I guess you do seem pretty legit,it's nice to finally be getting some help out here." before Lucy walked up to the man and sternly wondered "So Tyrone….what are you doing out here then,and how'd you find us? Because that witch of a lady has already flown the coop and left us here with that knocked out sad sack down there."

"I went to the hotel y'all were staying at and found security footage of y'all being tranquilized by her and her men." Tyrone sighed and nonchalantly explained his reasons for arriving at the train yard which resulted in Charlie Brown lightly joking in response "Yeah we definitely remember that." before the man calmly continued his explanation "And as I watched the footage and heard her command them to take y'all to this train yard out here,I simply used common sense and went to the closet one that just so happened to be abandoned. Oh yeah,and I also came across a friend of y'all's on the way here." to which the kids raised an eyebrow while Tyrone stepped away from the door and revealed none other than Ed standing in the sunlight behind him as the kids and beagles happily gasped at the revelation while the boy meekly greeted them "Hey guys."

"Ed!" Rebecca ecstatically exclaimed at the revelation that her boyfriend was still alive as she sprinted toward the hermit and gave him a crushing hug that he quickly joined in on while everyone else happily greeted him over each other,Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie and Roger started dancing in excitement,and even Tyrone couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of the kids being reunited with each other,but that smile of his would soon fade away afterwards when he suddenly felt his phone vibrating from his pocket as he took it out and saw that Mrs Hampton's getaway train had already taken off thanks to his tracker to which the man sighed at the realization.

Once Rebecca and Ed finally managed to let go of each other and the kids and animals ceased their celebration,the former finally started to notice how horrible her boyfriend looked as she meekly brought it up with a concerned look on her face "Ed you look horrible,what in the world happened to you?" to which the boy nonchalantly explained his messy demeanor "I went to the chateau,found out the stuff with my mom was bs and just a trap set up by that lady so she could get revenge on me for sending her to prison,but as y'all can see,that didn't exactly work out well. Oh yeah I also lost my hat and eyepatch in the scuffle,but I can just get another one,I just hope Christine won't be too strung up about it." before Tyrone quietly whispered to himself in awe "Damn,this kid has gone through a lot."

However it was then and there that Peppermint Patty started to notice that Herman was nowhere to be found as she calmly brought it up at the realization "Hey Ed,where's Herman?" to which the boy's look of relief and happiness morphed into a saddened frown while he somberly explained what happened "Herman…...didn't make it." which caused the rest of the kids to gasp out of shock while the five beagles along with Woodstock started crying at the revelation that their friend was dead before Charlie Brown, Freida and Claudia went up to them in an attempt to apply some comfort while Ed meekly suggested in an attempt to move past the conversation for the moment "Let's…..let's head outside and move on from there."

"S-sure thing babe." Rebecca nodded her head and timidly obliged in a shaky voice on the verge of tears due to her and the others feeling sorry for their friend's loss before they all slowly began to make their way outside and be free of the dark confines of the shack,all the while Tyrone walked up to Gibson and calmly stated as he picked him off the ground and followed after the kids "You're really lucky that THEY took you out before I could,because I definitely wouldn't have been as gentle."

**NEXT CHAPTER: SETTING THE STAGE**


	32. Chapter 32

**CHAPTER 32: THIS MEANS WAR**

Mrs Hampton's getaway train was blasting through the forests of France at an incredibly fast and unstoppable speed,for after she left the shack where she had locked up the kids and supposedly killed them all with an explosive she stole from the prison she broke out of,she seemingly believed that her revenge had finally come to a satisfying sense of closure after spending such a long time planning and carrying it out,and now the only thing left for her to do was flee the country with the inmates she rounded up as her henchmen,while the other two she sent out would catch up with her later.

The lady was standing at the front car of the train with her henchmen and starring up ahead at the seemingly unending scenery of trees and forestland as she blissfully remarked while she reminisced about her supposed revenge being a success "Gentlemen,words cannot begin to express how good it feels to finally have those wretched kids and animals be wiped away from the face of the world,and how it feels to look back at them with nothing but contempt,but do not think that this is the end,because this is only gonna be the beginning…...once we reach mother Russia." to which all the escaped inmates maliciously cheered in excitement while they raised their guns in the air,for this was only the start of their life under Mrs Hampton's wing.

Meanwhile back at the abandoned train yard,Tyrone was busy looking around at the tracker he placed on the train while the kids were sitting on a bench and gawking at the messy state that the yard had been reduced to as Charlie Brown remarked in awe "Look at this place,it's a complete mess from top to bottom." before Marcie promptly added in a much more calm tone of voice "I think the property value for this place is in the negative numbers." only for Linus to shake his head and respectfully disagree with the brunette "Negative numbers? I'd say more nonexistent than anything." to which Franklin jokingly stated when he saw how rusty everything looked "I'd say if we didn't already have our tetanus shots,we'd be infected just by breathing the air in this place."

"It definitely seems like the kind of place where a psycho would take their hostages." Eudora nodded her head and nonchalantly added in agreement before Ed timidly whimpered in response with his head hung low "And murderers too,we can't forget about the murderers." and it was pretty obvious to the rest of the kids that he was talking about Herman's death as Freida meekly stated while Rebecca wrapped her arm around her boyfriend "I'm very sorry about Herman,Ed. You must have cared about him a lot." to which the hermit sighed and somberly confirmed that he did "Yeah,he was a great friend,one of the first that I ever had,and he especially liked hanging with Snoopy, his brothers, Woodstock, Gracie and Roger when he could. He was always the super lively one of my crew,and he often liked to lighten up the mood when everyone else seemed down in the dumps. I'm really gonna miss him."

It was at this point that tears started to slowly build up in Ed's eyes only for him to quickly wipe them away before Peppermint Patty angrily lamented "I'm really starting to hope that lady gets what's coming to her and more,that is some messed up stuff to do right there." to which Lucy pointed over at Tyrone and confidently stated "Well that's what Tyrone is here for because it's the job he's been given,once he finds her,he's probably gonna bring her back tied up like a road hog."

"That is if I'm gonna be able to even catch their train,it's now on the move and on route to Russia from what my tracker is saying." Tyrone suddenly joined in on the conversation and calmly retorted after hearing Lucy's sny comments before Eudora rolled her eyes and jokingly remarked "Russia huh? Well I hope that lady likes the cold or is at least used to it because she's gonna be feeling a lot of it." which caused a light chuckle to come from Franklin and Franco before being followed by a mostly awkward silence from the kids.

After about another minute of complete silence from the kids due to them reflecting on their trip and what it had come to,Sally finally decided to kickstart another conversation as she meekly wondered at the realization that they were now free "So what do we do now big brother?" to which Charlie Brown perked up and calmly guessed at the seams "I suppose we could all head back to the hotel,that is if we even knew where we are and where to go." which prompted Claudia to politely suggest as she glanced over at Tyrone and saw him walking towards them "M-maybe we could see if Tyrone could give us a l-lift."

"That actually ain't too bad of an idea." Skylar nodded his head and happily agreed with Claudia's idea before Peppermint Patty looked up at the man and asked upfront "Hey Tyrone,what are you gonna do now that we're busted out?" to which the man nonchalantly stated in response "I'm going after Mrs Hampton's train,I still got a job to do and I can't let her leave the country. When I'm done I'll come back for y'all and take you back to your hotel. Stay safe out here kids." before the man slowly proceeded to make his way back to his car,only for Ed to suddenly get off the bench and firmly announce "Wait! I'm going with you." which caused everyone aside from Lucy to gasp at the mere idea while Tyrone turned around with a raised eyebrow.

"Ed are you serious?!" Charlie Brown frantically asked at the whole concept of such an idea before Rebecca added equally as bewildered and dumbfounded "That woman's even more dangerous now,you're just gonna get yourself killed!" to which Peppermint Patty nodded her head and sternly lamented "You know we may have grit here,but we don't have THAT much grit!" followed up by Skylar nervously asking in response "Ed did you hit your head at that chateau? Because I think you need to stay put for a while."

It was at this point that all of the kids aside from Lucy started to go at Ed over each other for the very idea of him going to face Mrs Hampton with Tyrone for about ten more seconds before the boy suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs "GUYS LISTEN!" which prompted everyone to cease their attempts to stop him before he continued much more calm and down to Earth "Look,I know y'all are worried,and I know that this is a ridiculous idea even for me,but Herman died in those caves because I went to that chateau and gave that lady the opportunity to do what she did,and she's about to leave the country and stay away from the law like nothing ever happened. I can't let her leave the country,I can't let Herman go out the way he did with no closure….and I can't walk away. I'm done walking away from the fight. I walked away from the salvage yard and I even walked away from the Lizard Ladies,but I'm not walking away from this. So who is with me?!"

The kids were left absolutely astonished after hearing Ed's reasoning for wanting to go after Mrs Hampton and stood there in complete silence for about thirty seconds until Rebecca suddenly spoke up "I'm going with you." to which everyone gasped yet again before the blonde continued while she hugged her boyfriend "I keep on forgetting that there's no stopping you babe,but if you think that I'm just gonna let you go at it alone after the chateau? You give me way too little credit." which prompted Lucy to smile and surprisingly join up with Ed as well "You can count me in too Eddo."

"I guess if you're going,then I have no choice but to go too." Linus sighed and reluctantly decided to go along with the idea before Eudora nodded her head and fiercely added in agreement "And I'm going to make sure no one hurts my baby boy!" which was followed up by Skylar walking forward to signify that he was coming as well only for Claudia to suddenly grab his hand and announce in determination "Me and Skylar will go too."

"We all tragically lost Herman today,so we have to make sure we don't lose Ed now do we?" Marcie smiled and heroically asked as Franklin nodded his head in agreement before he ecstatically remarked "I don't know why,but this is starting to sound kinda fun!" to which Peppermint Patty pounded her fists together and angrily lamented "That lady deserves to get a beating by some very angry kids,and those kids being all of us of course!" which was followed up by Charlie Brown and Freida looking at each other for a few moments before smiling and happily stating in unison "Count us in too!"

"And if you go,I go!" Sally furiously added in determination as she grabbed her big brother's arm and held it up in the air before Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie and Roger heroically saluted with smiles to which Ed laughed and cheerfully exclaimed while he held out his arm for Tyrone to shake unaware that Snoopy had miraculously wandered off "All right! That's everyone! What do you say Tyrone? You just have to know you'll need a little help SOMEWHERE down the line." which caused the man to lightly chuckle before he couldn't help but shake the boy's hand and oblige "You kids are some of the craziest little rascals that I've ever seen,but that doesn't mean y'all can't be of some help. I don't normally condone swearing in front of children,but let's go flame broil this bitch!"

The kids then proceeded to heroically cheer in agreement before one of the henchmen's own vans that just so happened to be sitting behind the shack suddenly drove on by as the windows slowly rolled down to reveal none other than Snoopy in his World War 1 Flying Ace attire before he happily signaled for the others to get in with a wave of his hand,and the kids couldn't help but get in the van with him as they all quickly piled inside,even Tyrone managed to bring himself to get inside despite the fact that a dog was able to drive. Once everyone was in the van and accounted for and after Tyrone brought the knocked out Gibson aboard for convenience,the most looked over at Snoopy and sternly commanded "Dog….step on the gas." to which the beagle saluted before he slammed his foot on the gas pedal and proceeded to go after the train. It was time for war.

_Together we're gonna make it._

_Through the darkest night._

_Together we're gonna make it._

_Gonna make it back home._

_Together we're gonna make it._

_Gonna stand up and fight._

'_Cause together is better._

_Together we'll make it right._

_Together we're gonna make it._

_(Stand up.)_

'_Cause together is better._

_(Than whatever I've done yeah.)_

_Together is better._

_(Than the power of one.)_

_Together is better._

_(Than whatever you might have planned.)_

_(Here I stand.)_

_In a foreign wonderland._

**NEXT CHAPTER: SHOWDOWN**

"**Together." **Written By Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy.

©️Sony Music Entertainment.


	33. Chapter 33

**CHAPTER 33: AMBUSH**

This was it,this was finally it,everything that the last day and a half had been building up to was finally about to pay off in one of the biggest gambles that the PEANUTS gang had ever come across,they along with the help of Tyrone were about to storm Mrs Hampton's getaway train and take the evil witch and her henchmen out themselves,granted they all knew that it was a huge risk to try and pull off a move like this,but if it meant being able to kick the lady to the curb for supposedly killing Herman and just about breaking every law in existence,they were gonna do this and they were gonna do it right.

As Snoopy continued to drive the van through the forests of France at maximum speed and follow Tyrone's tracker,Peppermint Patty tapped the man on the shoulder and asked out of curiosity"So Tyrone,what's the plan we got here?" to which the man cleared his throat and promptly explained it to the kids "Everyone,listen up,our main goal here is to apprehend Mrs Hampton,her goons and stop the train before it reaches the country border,we'll hook up the van to the train so we can get on easier. Now I'm not gonna lie to y'all,this train is most likely gonna be armed with extremely dangerous men with guns,and just because y'all are kids and animals,that doesn't mean they will hesitate to kill you." before the man proceeded to pull out what looked like multiple pistols from his trench coat while he asked "Do y'all know your way around guns?"

"G-guns?! With bullets?!" Freida gasped and fearfully questioned Tyrone's decision to give them anything even resembling guns only for the man to shake his head and firmly try to calm the girl down "Relax,they're only tranquilizers,I snuck these into my luggage just before I came over here,now do y'all know your way around guns?" to which Rebecca shrugged her arms and nonchalantly answered the man's question "Me and Ed happen to know our way around a shotgun,is that good enough?"

"That's good enough,and for y'all who are still relatively inexperienced,just follow our lead and don't get shot." Tyrone nodded his head and happily confirmed that Rebecca and Ed were fit to wield a gun before he started to hand one out to everyone to which Peppermint Patty happily stated out of a slight sense of excitement "Wow,a tranquilizer,I never thought I'd be able to wield one of these babies." before Lucy devilishly remarked while she fiddled around with hers "Wait till everyone back home hears about this,they're gonna be so jealous."

"Or thankful they didn't have to do any of this stuff." Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and timidly added as he and Freida looked down at their guns with a slight sense of nervousness before Tyrone suddenly announced when he started to spot the train up ahead "There's the train! Now remember,our goal is to stop the train and apprehend the inmates,if it ever gets to the point where you're gonna need to make the kill,don't hesitate to! Again,these guys will not hesitate to kill y'all,be ready,we're approaching the back car!" to which Peppermint Patty, Ed and Lucy pounded their fists, Charlie Brown and Freida along with Claudia and Skylar tightly held each other's hands,and lastly everyone else started making a gritty war face of their own,even Snoopy started to try and sharpen his teeth with a nail file admits his driving.

Meanwhile on the train,Mrs Hampton was still lurking in the front car and looking up ahead at the still unchanging scenery while her henchmen were patrolling the other train cars,the woman continued to do this for about ten more seconds before one of her henchmen suddenly ran up behind her and frantically announced "Miss! Miss! You better come to the back car right away!" to which the woman sighed and lamented in a mostly bored sounding voice "Well we better be chased down by the law then if it's so urgent." only for the henchman to start sweating while he nervously retorted in response "But that's the thing miss,they are!"

"What?!" Mrs Hampton instantly turned around and angrily shouted before she quickly proceeded to follow the guard to the very last car on the train,and once she finally made it there and was greeted by the sight of a few more guards,she looked over at the one who had called for her presence in the first place and furiously demanded "What is it?! Where are they?!" to which the man promptly pointed up ahead and nervously answered "Up there,in the van!" which caused the lady to glance at where he was pointing and be left completely bewildered when she saw Ed, the kids, the beagles, the bird and what looked like a much older man coming after the train through their windshield.

"You cheeky bastards." Mrs Hampton quietly whispered to herself in awe as her surprised and dumbfounded look on her face slowly morphed into a much more cold and emotionless one before the guard meekly asked in response "What do we do miss?" to which the woman sneered and maliciously commanded while she slowly started to head back to the front car "Send out the attack drones,and set them from stun to kill." which prompted the guard to nod his head and oblige without question as he followed her "Yes ma'am. Send out the drones!" and pretty soon afterwards what appeared to be numerous black drones started flying out from the bottom of the train and began to make their way towards the van.

"W-What are those things?" A slightly more fearful Marcie nervously asked at the sight of the flying monstrosities to which Tyrone gritted his teeth and fiercely retorted in response "They're attack drones,and they look pretty angry!" before the man proceeded to toss small bags of ammo at each of the kids while he sternly continued "Here,y'all are gonna need these,they're bullets,because darts aren't gonna do anything to those things! Snoopy,get us away from those drones,and don't lose that train!" to which the beagle saluted and proceeded to drive off into the more tree packed area of the forest as the kids started to load up their ammo,the drones started chasing them down and Tyrone started shooting at them from his window while Claudia put on her ear muffs due to the noise.

_Welcome to the jungle._

_We got fun and games._

_We got everything you want._

_Honey we know the names._

_We are the people that can find whatever you may need._

_If you got the money honey we got your disease._

_In the jungle,welcome to the jungle._

_Watch it bring you to your sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na knees. _

_Knees._

_I,I wanna watch you bleed._

_Welcome to the jungle._

_We take it day by day._

_If you want it you're gonna bleed but it's the price you pay._

_And you're a very sexy girl who's very hard to please._

_You can taste the bright lights but you won't get there for free._

_In the jungle,welcome to the jungle._

_Feel my,my,my,my serpentine._

_Ooh,I,I,wanna hear you scream._

"Crap! There's more of them coming from behind us and I can't get a good aim at them!" Tyrone groaned and angrily lamented when he noticed even more drones approaching the van from behind before Rebecca suddenly perked up and announced "Wait,I got an idea!" which was followed up by the blonde opening the back door of the van and beginning to shoot the drones from there.

"Hey that's a great idea,come on let's help out!" Ed smiled and happily complimented Rebecca's idea before he and the rest of the kids started to cautiously help out with the target practice while Snoopy continued to drive.

_Welcome to the jungle._

_It gets worse here every day._

_You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play._

_If you got a hunger for what you see._

_You'll take it eventually._

_You can have anything you want but you better not take it from me._

_In the jungle,welcome to the jungle._

_Watch it bring you to your sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na knees._

_Knees._

_I'm gonna watch you bleed._

_And when you're high you never ever wanna come down._

_So down._

_So down._

_So down._

_Yeah!_

"Miss! We're losing drones left and right! At this rate we're gonna lose all of them!" One of the guards nervously announced while he looked at their drone list via a small laptop to which the woman gritted her teeth and angrily commanded "SEND ALL OF THEM OUT! I WANT THAT VAN TO BE ASH!" which prompted the guard to reluctantly send out the rest of the drones from under the train.

"Ok,I think that's all of them so far. Let's try to get back to the train." Linus took a deep breath and meekly remarked while he started to reload his gun and the kids started to redirect their attention back up north,with the exception of Sally however who merely pointed and nervously wondered when she saw what looked like a huge shadow forming on the ground "Wait,then what is that?" to which everyone turned around with raised eyebrows and looked outside to see what appeared to be a huge assortment of drones flying up in the sky to the point where they were completely covering the sun,much to their shock and fear.

"OH GOOD GRIEF!" Charlie Brown gasped and fearfully exclaimed at the sight of all the drones before the robotic machines proceeded to sprint towards them at an incredibly fast speed to which Tyrone sternly commanded on the spot "Kids,shut the door and hold on tight,Snoopy take us through those trees as best you can! If we're lucky than the drones should crash into them!" which prompted the kids to do as they were told and the beagle to salute yet again before he drove into the most tree heavy area of the forest and started to quickly drive past them,and much like Tyrone and the others were hoping,the drones soon started to crash into the trees and explode due to them being unable to keep up with Snoopy's unpredictable driving.

_You know where you are?_

_You're in the jungle baby._

_You're gonna die._

_In the jungle,welcome to the jungle._

_Watch it bring you to your sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na knees._

_Knees._

_In the jungle,welcome to the jungle._

_Feel my,feel my,my,my serpentine._

_The jungle,welcome to the jungle._

_Watch it bring you to your sha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na knees._

_Knees._

_Down in the jungle,welcome to the jungle._

_Watch it bring you to your,it's gonna bring you down._

_Huh!_

"NO!" Mrs Hampton angrily lamented after seeing each and every one of her drones go offline as she picked up the laptop and smashed into a million pieces by tossing it on the floor before the guard gulped and meekly asked "W-what should we do now miss?" to which the woman maliciously suggested with a much more deep and intimidating voice than before "Let them come,I'll deal with them myself."

After it looked like the gang had successfully managed to take out all of Mrs Hampton's rampant attack drones,they immediately wasted no time and proceeded to make their way back to the train as Claudia took a deep breath and meekly stated with relief "T-that was insane back there!" to which Skylar nodded his head and frantically agreed with his girlfriend "I know! This lady has no chill at all!"

"But at the very least Snoopy was able to help us out with his driving skills,or lack thereof." Charlie Brown sighed and gratefully stated in response while he got up to the driver's seat and scratched behind his dog's ear before Marcie calmly lamented as she and the others started reloading their guns with tranquilizers "You know when I woke up that Friday morning and started to make my way to the airport,getting shot at by attack drones while chasing after a train was something I never counted on happening." to which Tyrone lightly chuckled and jokingly retorted "Yeah and I never counted on a bunch of kids and animals helping me out with a job,and they somehow managing to end up doing alright."

"What I'm most confused about is how and where she could've gotten all those drones,she's still a criminal on the run and I don't think she would have the time to get that many." Lucy sighed and stated when she realized just how many drones were sent after them to which Tyrone shrugged his arms and nonchalantly guessed "My guess is that she just looted as much stuff from the prison as she and her goons could before they had to leave the place. That probably means she has even more tricks up her sleeve,so we gotta be even more careful when we get on that train." before Franklin perked up and pointed out when he spotted the train up ahead "I see the train again,let's hurry up and get on that thing before she sends something else out at us."

"Right." Tyrone nodded his head and calmly agreed with the boy's suggestion as Snoopy began to drive closer and closer to the train's back car,and once he seemed to have gotten the van as close as it could go,the older man opened up the passenger seat door and firmly commanded while he took out what appeared to be a metal hook of some kind and tethered it to the train and the van "Kids,open up the sliding door and be prepared to jump on board the train,this tether should be able to keep the van hooked up to the car and keep it steady without a driver." to which the kids promptly did so and mentally prepared themselves to make the jump along with the beagles.

"All right,one,two,three!" Tyrone took a deep breath and slowly counted down before he,the kids and the animals jumped out of the van and safely landed on the train car,and just like the older man was expecting,the tether was indeed keeping the van steady even without a driver as he sighed,looked down at the kids and calmly remarked "All right,we're in the endgame now kids,just follow my lead and do what I say. It's showtime." which was followed up by the others trustingly nodding their heads in agreement and proceeding to slowly and cautiously proceed through the train.

**NEXT CHAPTER: THE FINAL SHOWDOWN**

"**Welcome To The Jungle." **Written By Axl Rose,Duff McKagan,Jeffery Isbell,Saul Hudson and Steven Adler.

Performed By Guns N' Roses.

©️Geffen Records. UMG Recordings.


	34. Chapter 34

**CHAPTER 34: PLUS EST EN VOUS**

**Author's Note: **"**Plus Est En Vous." = "There is more in you."**

As the kids followed Tyrone and slowly made their way through the numerous train cars up ahead,things seemed to be going mostly smooth and without any major problems halting their progress,every time they seemed to spot a guard in the distance,one of them would instantly knock them out with a tranquilizer like it was nothing,and with Tyrone, Ed and Rebecca being such good shots with their own weapons,they were practically like silent hawks with a perfect aim of when and where to snatch up their prey.

After it looked like the gang had silently taken out at least ten of the guards and entered yet another train car,they would all be left a little surprised when they ended up spotting a 4x4 Jeep tethered to the ground as Peppermint Patty enthusiastically whispered at the sight of it "Well would ya look at that,this lady even managed to get a Jeep on her train. What doesn't she have?" to which Tyrone calmly answered while he cautiously examined the car "I don't know about that,but what I do know is that we can use this as an emergency getaway if we need to." before Lucy smiled and confidently retorted in response "Which I don't think we'll even need to do,because we already have ten of those goons taken out with ease."

"Don't get too confident Lucy,I think we're getting close to the last car and I won't too be surprised if there's a trap in there." Linus rolled his eyes and quietly disagreed with Lucy's egotistical rambling before the voice of Mrs Hampton suddenly replied from up ahead "And you would be right my dear child." to which everyone gasped and fearfully tensed up while the lady and the rest of her henchmen slowly walked onto the train car,with the guards in particular aiming AK-47's at the group.

It was at this point that the group immediately tried to aim their guns and fire tranquilizers at the villains,only for the lady to halt them and sternly command beforehand "Uh-uh-uh. We greatly outnumber you in terms of sheer firepower,so I suggest that y'all just toss those toys off the train and make this easier for you….now." before the guards loaded up their guns in an attempt to intimidate the intruders which resulted in Tyrone sighing and bitterly requesting "Kids,do as she says." to which the kids reluctantly tossed their weapons overboard and left themselves completely unarmed along with Tyrone.

"Now that's better. I have to say I wasn't expecting to see y'all again,but aren't surprises just the most wonderful thing?" Mrs Hampton devilishly remarked with a malicious and sly grin on her face while she slowly walked up to a now furious and resentful Ed before she suddenly punched the kid in the stomach and brought him down to his knees,while the others could only gasp and the beagles could only whimper in fear which was followed up by the hermit meekly retorting in pain as he slowly lifted himself up "That's the thing about me miss…..I'm not exactly that easy to take down."

"We've gone through plenty of life threatening situations before,y-you're just another blip on that radar,and nothing more." Peppermint Patty nodded her head and fiercely added in agreement despite herself starting to feel a little fearful as well before Mrs Hampton glanced over at Tyrone and happily greeted him "So this is the so called detective that took out one of my men earlier,I will say,you are quite the handsome fellow." which prompted the man to roll his eyes and playfully retort while he stealthy took out a small set of pellets from his pocket "Well I would say the same to you but you ain't exactly my type,I'm not really into felons and criminals."

"Aren't we all? Now I would love to continue this conversation but I just have to keep watch of this train's route to Russia,for you see it's just about to cross the country border as we speak and I just can't have y'all be stowaways on my train." Mrs Hampton chuckled and evilly replied as she turned around and started to walk away from the crowd before she coldly commanded her henchmen "Shoot them. Throw their bodies overboard." only for Tyrone to suddenly toss the pellets he took out on the floor and immediately envelope the car in a huge cloud of smoke which prompted the lady and her men to start coughing out of nowhere as the former quickly retreated to the cars up ahead while Tyrone sternly commanded "Kids get in the Jeep! I have an idea!"

"What is it?" Charlie Brown raised an eyebrow and nervously asked as he and the kids couldn't help but cough a little due to the smoke to which Tyrone nonchalantly explained his plan while the others quickly piled into the Jeep and Snoopy yet again took the driver's seat "I saw a switch house over there to the right,if y'all can get over there and switch the tracks then we'll be moving the train AWAY from the border! We can't let her leave the country! Go quickly!" which prompted Snoopy to salute and start the Jeep while Tyrone loosened the tethers.

"Wait then what are you gonna do?" Skylar raised an eyebrow and nervously asked when it started to look like Tyrone wasn't gonna be coming with them to which the man calmly retorted "I'm gonna take care of these jokers here and then go after Mrs Hampton." before the man frantically continued when he noticed that the density of the smoke was fading away "Go! The smoke is fading!" which prompted Snoopy to slam his foot on the gas pedal and take the Jeep off the train just before it entered a tunnel while the beagle made his way towards the switch house.

However it was when Tyrone saw the Jeep leave the train and he got a good look at the kids that he was very quick to realize that one of the kids wasn't present as he gasped and angrily lamented "Wait a second! Ed's not on there!" but before he could try to process what was going on,the henchmen started to fire bullets at the man after they started to be able to see again which he was able to dodge before he started taking them on with some classic hand to hand combat skills.

Rebecca was also quick to notice that Ed wasn't in the Jeep with them as well as she fearfully exclaimed while her eyes widened out of shock "Wait,Ed isn't here! He's still on the train!" to which Charlie Brown looked behind him at the now empty train tracks and meekly wondered "Should we go back then?" only for Lucy to shake her head and sternly refuse "No! We gotta head to the switch house and change up the tracks or else that lady's gonna leave the country! We'll go back when we're done!" which prompted the blonde to glance back at the train tracks as well with a clear look of concern on her face while Snoopy continued driving. The sun was now starting to slowly make it's daily decent as Tyrone continued to fight off the rest of Mrs Hampton's henchmen and make complete mincemeat of them,every time it looked like one of them was gonna get the jump on the man,they would quickly be proven wrong by either a quick punch in the face or a sweep kick that brought them down with a loud and crashing thud.

Meanwhile Mrs Hampton had since retreated to the last car on the train aside from the engine room as she frantically tried to catch her breath due to the smoke bomb from earlier only for the voice of Ed to suddenly call out from behind "I never took you as someone who would run away from a fight." to which the woman perked up and slowly turned around to see the hermit himself angrily glaring at her before she sneered and coldly retorted "You sure have some nerve to talk to me about running away,that considering you ran away from the very orphanage you grew up in. I'd say that's hypocrisy on a completely different level than normal."

"Enough talk lady,let's finish this!" Ed scoffed and bitterly suggested in response as he put up his fists and got into a fighting position before the voice of Tyrone suddenly added while he ran onto the train car and the other two redirected their attention over to him "You can't do this alone Eddy! I'd say a job like this requires two people." to which the boy smiled and happily obliged "Sure thing Tyrone,as long as I get to take this lady down,anything goes." only for Mrs Hampton to angrily stare at the man and bitterly lament "I can't believe my most trusted men couldn't even take someone like you down,but you know what they say,if you wanna do something right,you gotta do it yourself." And just before the three of them knew it,the fight had already kicked off as Ed ran towards the lady and tried to deliver a kick to the stomach,only for the woman to quickly dodge it and try to deliver a punch to the back of his head before Tyrone suddenly smacked her across the jaw a few times before she managed to grab his balled up hand and painfully twist it before she picked up the man and tossed him on top of Ed,who was just about to try and deliver another attack.

"I'm not in the mood for games." Mrs Hampton firmly scolded Ed and Tyrone for attempting to fight her before the former chuckled and playfully retorted while he and the older man stood up "Lady,you're lucky we're gentlemen,because if we weren't we'd-" only for the boy to be interrupted when the woman scoffed and coldly demanded to know "Y'all would what? Take me back to that prison? Because I'd just find another way to break out." to which Tyrone rolled his eyes and dumbfoundedly questioned "Oh do you seriously think you're gonna go back there? We got an even more tight and secure place in mind for you."

"Well it sure is a pity I'll never get to see it then,sounds like quite the lovely place." Mrs Hampton sighed and sarcastically lamented in response before she ran towards Ed and tried to land a few punches that he thankfully managed to dodge before Tyrone grabbed the lady by the leg from behind and brought her down to the ground with a loud thud,only for the woman to quickly kick him in the face and cause him to lose his balance and fall off the side of the train,only for him to manage to stay on by holding onto some of the railing.

"Tyrone!" Ed gasped and called out in a panic before Mrs Hampton suddenly pulled out a gun and aimed it at him as she laughed and evilly stated while the boy nervously closed his eyes "Now you're next." but before the woman could even pull the trigger and finally end the fight,something had suddenly ran out onto the train car at an incredible speed and snatched it right out of her hand before it proceeded to stand in front of Ed and face the lady head on.

"And just who are you supposed to be?" Mrs Hampton gritted her teeth and angrily demanded to know the identity of the mysterious stranger who had joined the fight before Ed slowly opened his eyes to see what was going on,and once he had a complete visual on who was standing in front of him,his eye widened and his jaw dropped in shock when he saw none other than Herman standing in front of him with the gun in his mouth as he gasped and happily exclaimed "Herman! You're alive!" to which the wolf turned around to face his friend and wink with a playful little smile.

"Oh my god I'm so happy to see you!" Ed laughed and ecstatically remarked as he walked over to his friend and gave him a crushing hug that the wolf quickly joined in on,all the while Mrs Hampton merely looked at the two friends with nothing but contempt for them before Tyrone managed to climb back on board the train,much to her shock as she turned around and exclaimed in bewilderment "What?! How are you still alive?!" only for the man to refuse to answer as he looked over at the wolf and the boy's reunion and questioned to himself out of slight confusion "What the hell?"

It was at this point that Ed and Herman finally managed to put their reunion on hold as the two of them looked over at the woman while the former heroically stated "You see Mrs Hampton? You think you have won,but you have achieved nothing! All you have done is just postpone your own failure." before Tyrone suddenly joined their side and confidently added in agreement "He's right,you have done nothing but set yourself up for a crippling failure. I suggest that you stop this now before it gets even worse for you." however Mrs Hampton could only squint her eyes and firmly refuse while she got into another battle stance "No." which was followed by her vastly approaching Ed, Tyrone and the sudden new arrival that was Herman with the intent to continue the fight.

Meanwhile the kids had finally made it over to the switch house thanks to Snoopy's driving skills but there was very little time for celebrating as Sally nervously pointed out when she could spot the train coming up ahead in the distance "Look! The train!" to which Peppermint Patty sternly suggested while they all piled out of the Jeep and made their way towards the switch bar "Ok troops,on the double!" however as the kids pushed on the bar as hard as they could,it was proving to be extremely heavy and barely moving at all despite how hard they pushed as Charlie Brown pointed it out in a pained tone of voice "Good grief,this thing is so heavy!"

"Well we still gotta get it moving because the train is coming!" Lucy fiercely retorted in response when she spotted the train getting closer and closer by the second before Peppermint Patty loudly shouted in an attempt to apply some motivation "PUSH EVERYONE! PUSH!" and just before the train was about to continue heading down Mrs Hampton's predetermined route,the switch bar suddenly jolted forward and finally switched the tracks over as the train violently slammed onto the new set of tracks and began heading down a completely new route,even crashing into a wooden sign on the tracks and throwing Ed, Tyrone, Mrs Hampton and Herman around in the process due to the sudden and abrupt change.

The kids were extremely relieved and ecstatic now that their plan ended up working as Charlie Brown took a deep breath and happily stated on the verge of passing out "There! Finally!" before Rebecca chuckled and enthusiastically predicted "Looks like that lady's gonna be in for a rude awakening pretty soon." to which the rest of the kids started cheering in excitement and Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie and Roger began dancing in an attempt to celebrate. However admits the gang's celebration that their plan ended up working,Linus suddenly came to the realization that they didn't even know where the train was going as he looked over at the empty train tracks and wondered out of curiosity "You know,I'm starting to wonder where exactly the train's going." to which the gang stopped their celebrating at the mention and began to contemplate about where they sent the train.

"Hey as long as it's away from the border,I don't think there's anything to get worked up over." Franklin shrugged his arms and nonchalantly tried to brush the idea aside which was followed up by Marcie picking up a nearby piece of the broken sign and looked over it for a few moments before she calmly warned while she handed it over to Charlie Brown "I think that new track we sent them on isn't even finished yet." to which Charlie Brown looked at the sign to see that it read "WARNING: UNFINISHED TRACK AHEAD DO NOT CROSS."

Meanwhile back on the train that was now on a completely new track and moving away from the country border,Ed and Herman were laying down on the floor of the car after being violently thrashed around by the sudden change in the tracks while Tyrone and Mrs Hampton were going at each other's throats in a mostly tied fist fight. The two of them continued to go at it before Tyrone smacked Mrs Hampton across the jaw and caused her to spin around due to the impact before she suddenly noticed many warning signs that were telling them not to proceed further passing by,and that was all she needed to know that something was wrong as she turned around to face Tyrone and angrily wondered "What did you do?" to which the man promptly explained what he had done while he helped a slowly waking Ed and Herman off the ground "Did you ever stop and wonder where the rest of the kids are? Because they just sent you on a track that is definitely not leading to the border."

"Face it lady,it's over for you. Let's just wrap it up because I'm really tired and in the mood for some food." Ed nodded his head and calmly added in a very tired and bored tone of voice only for the woman to angrily sneer at the revelation that her plan was on the verge of failure before the voice of Charlie Brown suddenly called out while he and the others joined them on the car "Ed! Tyrone! We gotta get off this train quick!" which was followed up by Sally nervously adding in agreement "Yeah because it's heading towards a broken bridge!" However before Ed or Tyrone could muster out a response or the kids could even acknowledge that Herman was on the train with them despite them all thinking he had died,Mrs Hampton suddenly grabbed Charlie Brown by the arm and tossed him down onto the ground before she pointed her gun straight at him to which the others started panicking,Freida fearfully cried out as she got down to try and help her boyfriend up "No Charlie! Don't hurt him!" and Tyrone sternly demanded at the sight "Mrs Hampton! Step away from the boy now!"

"Oh really? Why should I?" Mrs Hampton sneered and coldly wondered their reasoning for wanting Charlie Brown to be left unharmed as Peppermint Patty balled up her fist and firmly answered "Because if you lay a single finger on him,I'll make sure you don't walk again before we take you back to prison!" before Freida nervously pleaded as tears slowly started to well up in her eyes "Please,please don't hurt him,I love him!" only for the woman to look down at the two fearful children and state with a malicious smile "Oh…..so it's love then? What an idea it is,one that can be broken apart by a single bullet if I choose."

"You're wrong!" Ed suddenly gritted his teeth and angrily disagreed with Mrs Hampton's views on love before he furiously continued while everyone turned to face him "I may still have a lot to learn about what it means to be in love and have friends,but I know what it means to spend time with them and relish in the good times that come from them. It'll take a lot more than someone like you to do away with that." to which the woman looked down at the two children again to see Freida plea once more "Please." and it was at this point that something strange yet relieving started to happen,and it was that Mrs Hampton shrugged her arms and slowly proceeded to lower her gun with a smile as Tyrone gave a sigh of relief and calmly announced "Mrs Hampton,by the power invested in me,I hereby place you under arrest for escaping from prison, theft, attempted murder, attempted child and animal cruelty and obstruction of justice. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Do you have anything you wish to say?"

"Actually I do. Do any of y'all fear death?" Mrs Hampton nodded her head and devilishly confirmed that she did before she quickly lifted her gun back up and fired a bullet straight at Charlie Brown as the boy instantly gasped and felt an immense amount of pain in his chest as the rest of the kids and animals screamed, Freida and Sally started crying uncontrollably, Tyrone felt his body freeze up at the realization that he let another kid get shot, and Ed could only stare up ahead at the sight as he remained completely silent. However it was after a few more seconds of this that Ed suddenly snapped and angrily screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran right up to Mrs Hampton,climbed on top of her and started to lay the smack down on her,which was followed up by Peppermint Patty, Lucy and Snoopy joining in as well.

"Charlie! Look at me! Look at me!" Freida frantically exclaimed in a tear filled panic as she tried endlessly to help Charlie Brown in any way she could while the boy could only grunt and groan due to the pain,and pretty soon Mrs Hampton had finally managed to knock Ed, Patty, Lucy and Snoopy off and throw them towards Freida and Charlie Brown,unaware that the scuffle had caused her to drop her gun before she turned around to face Tyrone while she furiously exclaimed "Y'all will not leave this train alive!" before she suddenly felt an immense amount of pain run down her back combined with the sound of a gunshot. The woman gasped and started to try and figure out what was going on as she slowly turned around to see that Ed was holding her pistol and that smoke was coming out of the bullethole,indicating that he had shot her as she held out her hand and tried to walk towards the kids,only for her to lose her balance and fall off the side of the train into the forest abyss below. Mrs Hampton was gone for good.

However there was very little time or room for celebration as Freida looked down at Charlie Brown and somberly whimpered while tears continued to roll down her face and Snoopy joined his owner's side "Charlie….please don't die. I can't live without you." before the boy meekly mustered out while he reached under his shirt "F-Freida…...I-I think I'm gonna be fine. It just hurts a lot." to which she and the other saddened kids raised an eyebrow in confusion before Charlie Brown pulled out what appeared to be his and Freida's locket with what appeared to be a bullet hole in the golden casing.

"Our locket! It protected you!" Freida gasped and happily exclaimed at the revelation that Charlie Brown was alright to which the rest of the kids started cheering while Freida, Snoopy and Sally hugged Charlie Brown all at once before Tyrone suddenly noticed that they were running out of track from up ahead and that they were approaching the empty bridge as he perked up and firmly suggested "Ok kids we better hurry up and get off this train! We're running out of track!" to which the others nodded their heads and proceeded to follow Tyrone to the end of the train so they could all escape via the still hooked up van.

As the kids quickly ran through the train cars and gathered up the rest of the inmates so they could be loaded up,Ed started to feel like he was lagging behind due to how exhausted and tired he was feeling,and once the gang made it back to the van and quickly piled on inside,Rebecca was quick to notice that Ed wasn't there with them as she frantically exclaimed in a panic "Wait! Ed's still not here! We have to wait for him!" only for Tyrone to shake his head and regretfully disagree while he unhooked the van from the train,got in the driver's seat and proceeded to back away from the train "I'm sorry,but if we don't get our asses out of here then we're gonna be fried down there!" to which Rebecca peeked her head out of the slide open door and fearfully called out when she saw Ed jump out of the last train car and be left hanging on the edge of the bridge after the train had completely fallen off it "Ed! Come on you can make it!"

However it was right then and there that the gang would be caught off guard when a massive explosion suddenly rose up from the forestland below and violently shook the Earth before the power of its own shockwave launched Ed off the edge of the bridge and tossed him onto the train tracks as Tyrone stopped the van and allowed an opportunity for the kids to instantly get out and see if their friend was alright,all the while a massive pillar of smoke and fire continued to pierce the air while the sun was slowly setting in the horizon.

**NEXT CHAPTER: A CHOICE**


	35. Chapter 35

**CHAPTER 35: ONE CHOICE**

Ed was peacefully lying face down in the middle of a lucious and beautiful field that was overrun with tall,shining blades of orange and yellow grass that glowed brightly in the perpetual evening sunlight,the boy appeared to have all his clothes fixed,his bruises and wounds completely healed,and even his long blinded left eye was back to its normal state,however he was unable to notice it at all since he seemed to be fast asleep on the soft and almost soothing grass. Ed continued to sleep like this for about a few more minutes until he felt his eyes slowly start to open combined with the essence of a nice,calm breeze brushing past him alongside a very soft and nearly soothing feeling underneath him as well as he lifted himself off the ground to see where he was.

"Where am I? It's beautiful." Ed raised an eyebrow and questioned to himself while he looked around at the beautiful scenery before him before he suddenly realized that he could see out of his left eye again as he softly gasped and stated at the realization "I….I can see? What's going on here?" which was followed up by the boy walking around the field in an attempt to find any sort of life or clue as to where he was. However as the boy continued to search and search for any signs of life,he would instead continue to only be met by the sight of more grass as he hung his head and bitterly lamented "Man,I'm not finding anything here. What is this place?" before the voice of a woman suddenly called out from behind in a loving tone of voice "My dear son." to which the hermit immediately perked up and slowly turned around to be greeted by the sight of a middle aged woman with black hair and a white dress looking at him with a reassuring and gentle smile.

Ed was of course confused by the very sight of this mysterious new stranger as he politely wondered with a raised eyebrow "Who...are you miss?" only for the woman to say nothing while she continued to smile at the kid,and after a few more moments of this strange yet oddly comforting display,something inside Ed suddenly snapped after the only possible person who it could have been came into his mind as he softly gasped and asked while tears slowly began to well up in his eyes "M….mom?" to which the lady gently nodded her head. Ed had no idea what was going on at this point,but honestly he didn't even care a single bit as he started crying intensely while he ran towards his mother and gave her a big hug that she slowly joined in on before she comfortingly stated "It's alright,I'm here." to which the boy meekly whimpered admits his own crying "I've wanted to meet you for so long. I always have." which prompted the lady to softly add in agreement while she stroked her son's hair "And I've always wanted to see you all grown up for so long too."

After what seemed like an eternity of Ed happily wailing while he and his mother embraced for the very first time,the boy seemed to have finally put his crying under control as he let go of the woman and happily wondered "One thing I've always wanted to know is…...why did you and dad dump me off at that orphanage? I went through so much there and…..I just had to run away,I couldn't take it anymore and needed to get away from there." to which the woman hung her head a little and shamefully explained "From the very moment you were born,me and your father longed to care for you and raise you to be a kind and caring young boy. But our family was going through a lot of financial and personal hardship at that time and we just couldn't afford to take care of you anymore,so one winter night I mustered up all of my courage and took you to the safest place I could find. Unfortunately I can see that life still hadn't been very kind to you."

"It was awful at times. I lost my eye due to some bully at the orphanage,I was lured out here by some vengeful monster and nearly got killed twice by her." Ed nodded his head and meekly agreed with his mother as he recalled all the hardships he went through in his life before he suddenly stopped his rambling when he realized all the good things he had in his life as he continued with a slightly more bashful face "But then again...if I hadn't been taken to that orphanage,I wouldn't have met Ashlynn or Christine,I wouldn't have run away and saved Herman from that poacher trap in the woods,I sure wouldn't have busted Rebecca out of the orphanage,and I even...wouldn't have met all of my friends. So I guess…..it wasn't that bad after all." to which the woman smiled once more and happily agreed with her son "You are very much right indeed,throughout your life you have gone through things that no child should ever have to endure,but you have also done many heroic deeds that have directly affected your own life as well as those of the people around you. You have no idea how proud that makes me and your father."

It was at this point that even more tears were starting to well up in Ed's eyes as he quickly proceeded to wipe them away before a window suddenly appeared a few feet in front of him out of nowhere to which he perked up and questioned its presence with a raised eyebrow "What is that?" only for the boy's mother to calmly request while she joined her son's side "See for yourself." and once the boy reached the window and looked outside it to see what was going on,he would be left completely bewildered and shocked when he saw that he was looking down on the train tracks in France,where his mangled up and filthy body was lying there while the others were trying to get him to wake up,even Tyrone was trying to apply CPR but to no avail.

"That's….that's me?!" Ed gasped and fearfully exclaimed at the very sight of the others trying to wake him up before the boy's mother kindly explained what was happening down there "That is you indeed Edward,the explosion on the bridge nearly took you out for good,and you are on the very brink of death as we speak,however you can choose to go back to them if you wish,or you can come with me and your father. The choice is yours." to which the boy perked up at the realization that he could go back or stay with his parents,this was gonna be the ultimate choice that would determine whether he would live or die.

Ed thought hard about the two options he had for what felt like an eternity,there were so many perks and benefits he had to consider and there were so many other repercussions alongside them that he had to consider as well,but eventually the boy finally came to a decision as he sighed,looked his mother dead in the eye and bittersweetly stated with a smile "Mom…..I've waited for so many years to see you,and I will never forget the opportunity that I had here,but I think I'd like for me and Rebecca to have the chance to be the parents you and Dad couldn't. Also if you happen to see a girl named Margaux Holt,tell her that Lucy, Holly, Sylvia and the rest of us are all doing just fine down here,and that even know I never got the chance to meet her,that I wish I could've." which was followed by his mother happily smiling in support while the boy gave her one last hug.

_**Ed's Mother:**_

_Let the stars in the sky remind us of man's compassion._

_Let us love till we die and God bless us everyone._

_In your heart there's a night as bright as a star in Heaven._

_Let it shine through the night and God bless us everyone._

"My dear darling,thrust into the world so young,me,your father and the rest of your family will continue to watch over you for as long as you live. Edward,work hard,spend all the time you can with your friends,and above all,never let your heart grow bitter." Ed's mother happily bid her son farewell as she and the boy finally managed to let go of each other while the latter slowly walked through the window.

_Star by star in the sky and kindness by human kindness._

_Let us love till we die and God bless us everyone._

_God bless us everyone._

After Ed had seemed to take his leave of the golden field,the boy's mother slowly started to glow a heavenly light as she happily whispered to herself "Goodbye my son." before she seemingly vanished away from the field and left it entirely vacant,or at least it would have been if it weren't for a girl suddenly appearing and happily stating after the woman had left "Thank you Ed. I would have liked to meet you too."

Meanwhile back in the real world,the gang had seemingly come to the conclusion that Ed had unfortunately passed away as Tyrone sighed and regretfully closed the boy's eyes,all the kids started to weep at the seams while Charlie Brown, Freida, Peppermint Patty, Franco, Marcie, Franklin, Linus, Eudora, Claudia and Skylar hugged each other admits their own weeping,and Herman started to somberly howl into the sky as did Snoopy, Andy, Olaf, Gracie and Roger. Eventually the gang decided that it was time they headed back to the van as they all hung their heads and slowly began to move away from Ed's motionless state,however Rebecca and Herman on the other hand continued to stay with the boy as the former meekly whimpered while tears poured down her face "Oh Ed…...I can't live without you. You were my world."

_**Rebecca:**_

_Heal what has been hurt._

_Change the fate's design._

_Save what has been lost._

_Bring back what once was mine._

_What once was mine._

It was at this time that Rebecca began to weep once more as she stood up and began to follow the kids back to the van,while Herman sadly licked Ed's cheek one last time before he followed suit,however it was right then and there that the slowly setting sun started to shine on the boy's motionless body while it suddenly began to move ever so slightly,and pretty soon afterwards the hermit's eye slowly began to open and be greeted by the sight of the kids and animals walking away. However Ed didn't feel the need to call out to them or anything like that as he instead smiled,lifted himself off the ground and quietly followed after Rebecca,and once he was just behind her back,the girl slowly turned around when she started to suspect something before she was immediately greeted by Ed's smiling mug.

"ED!" Rebecca gasped and happily exclaimed at the sight of her boyfriend still being alive as she instantly pinned him on the ground and gave him a huge hug,and the others were quickly alerted of the situation as they all turned around and immediately began cheering in happiness at the display while all the couples hugged and kissed each other,and the animals sprinted towards the hermit before they proceeded to assault him with hugs of their own. It was an absolutely perfect way to end the day for the gang as the rest of the kids soon walked towards the reunion and happily joined in on it,all the while Tyrone looked up at the sky and began to quitely laugh to himself.

_You know I can't smile without you._

_I can't smile without you._

_I can't laugh and I can't sing._

_I'm finding it hard to do anything._

_You see I feel sad when you're sad._

_I feel glad when you're glad._

_If you only knew what I'm going through._

_I just can't smile without you._

_You came along just like a song._

_And brighten my day._

_Who would've believed that you were part of a dream?_

_Now it all seems lightyears away._

_And now you know I can't smile without you._

_I can't smile without you._

_I can't laugh and I can't sing._

_I'm finding it hard to do anything._

_You see I feel sad when you're sad._

_I feel glad when you're glad._

_If you only knew what I'm going through._

_I just can't smile._

_Now some people say happiness takes so very long to find._

_Well I'm finding it hard leaving your love behind me._

_And you see I can't smile without you._

_I can't smile without you._

_I can't laugh and I can't sing._

_I'm finding it hard to do anything._

_You see I feel glad when you're glad._

_I feel sad when you're sad._

_If you only knew what I'm going through._

_I just can't smile without you._

**NEXT CHAPTER: EARLY GOODBYE TO FRANCE**

"**God Bless Us Everyone." **Written by Alan Menken and Lynn Ahrens.

©️JAY Productions LTD

"**Healing Incantation."** Written by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater.

©️Walt Disney Music Company

"**Can't Smile Without You." **Written By Chris Arnold, David C. Martin and Geoff Morrow.

Performed by Barry Manilow.

©️Arista Records Inc.


	36. Chapter 36

**CHAPTER 36: GOODBYE FRANCE**

After the gang had finally managed to put a stop to Mrs Hampton's escape plan and make sure that Ed was still alright after he got caught up in the train's explosion,they all decided to head back to the hotel and finally get themselves some sleep,food and relaxation after such a stress filled,life threatening day that they just went through,even Tyrone decided to rent an available room for the night because even he was exhausted from all the chaos that had just ensued. The next day however was gonna be something they weren't really counting on from the very start of their trip,and it was that they were all gonna head to the airport in Paris and head on home much earlier than they were anticipating,because after all the things they went through the last couple days,they all felt like just going ahead and heading back home early,even if it meant missing Trevor's concert and canceling some of their plans in Paris like Freida's surprise date with Charlie Brown on the Eiffel Tower.

When the next day finally came after a long and relaxing night of sleep,the kids headed over to the airport,got their tickets and started loading up their luggage as Freida sighed and calmly remarked while she looked out a window to see the city "In any other situation I'd be dying to see more of the city,but I just want to go on home right now." to which Sally nodded her head and firmly added in agreement "I just want to go to a place where there aren't any psychos trying to kill all of us on a train. At least I'll live through school." before Franklin shrugged his arms and couldn't help but admit "I am very glad to be going home early,but I have to admit I did have a little bit of fun back there."

"Yeah,getting to pop tranquilizers into bad guys while putting a stop to a runaway train was a rush." Peppermint Patty chuckled and couldn't help but agree with Franklin's statement before Linus noticed that Charlie Brown was on the phone as he walked up to the boy and wondered "You talking to Trevor about the concert Charlie Brown?" to which the boy nodded his head before he continued his conversation with his cousin "Yeah,we're really sorry we can't go to the concert,we just went through a lot during the past couple days and just need to head back home for a break."

"Yeah I perfectly understand that,sometimes I feel like just lounging around for a while after going through a big gig or something like that. Are you still ok with us coming by for Thanksgiving then?" Trevor surprisingly showed support and sympathy for the gang deciding to leave France early while he and Spike were having some coffee at a cafe to which Charlie Brown perked up and cheerfully confirmed that he was "Oh absolutely,we just need to get away from France." to which Trevor gave a sigh of relief and happily lamented in response "Ok that's good,because let's just say that studio and record label food isn't all too good,it's the home cooking with family that really counts."

"Alright,it's about time for our flight to head on out,see you at Thanksgiving." Charlie Brown lightly chuckled and excused himself for the time being before he hung up and told Linus "Trevor's ok with us leaving early and that he and Spike are still gonna be coming for Thanksgiving. So that's good." to which the latter happily retorted while he and Charlie Brown walked back to the group "Well that's nice to know,it would be really awkward to find out that your own family member stood you up at your own concert. I'm just happy we were able to call Pierre and tell him we were leaving so he doesn't walk backstage without a single clue as to where we are."

"Yeah,that would have been really bad for him and whoever he was taking." Charlie Brown rolled his eyes and calmly agreed with Linus's statement before Peppermint Patty called out while she and some of the others began to board the plane "Hey slowpokes,come on let's blow this place already." to which the two boys sighed and promptly followed after the others while they joined their girlfriends.

However the only ones who didn't seem to be joining them were Rebecca and Ed as the former meekly asked "Are you sure that you have to stay here?" to which the hermit nodded his head and regretfully replied with an uplifting grin "Yeah,I just need some time to be alone and think about everything that's happened,but I'll most likely be back in time for Thanksgiving." which prompted the blonde to sigh and reluctantly let him stay "Alright,you do you,so I guess I'll see you back home then?" only for Ed to shake his head and respectfully retort "Oh there's no need for that kind of talk babe,because you're my home." and it was at this point that Rebecca started to smile as she and Ed gave each other one last hug on the verge of shedding some tears before she joined the others on the plane,unfortunately the kids and Tyrone weren't able to get into first class this time and only Snoopy, Woodstock, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger and Herman managed to hook themselves up with some seats,but honestly that didn't matter too much to the kids as they were just happy to be finally heading back home after such a grueling past couple days.

"Hey,where's Ed?" Skylar raised an eyebrow and wondered out of curiosity when he noticed that Ed wasn't on the plane with them to which Rebecca nonchalantly explained his absence while she got in her seat "He said he needed to stay here for a little while so he could think about everything,I actually don't blame him if I were being honest. He said he'll be back before Thanksgiving most likely." before Marcie sympathetically stated in response "I hope he'll manage to turn out ok after all the stuff with his mother being faked."

"I'm s-sure he'll be b-back to his normal self eventually." Claudia shrugged her arms and confidently predicted that Ed would be just fine before Charlie Brown looked out his window and somewhat bitterly lamented "I can't believe a simple letter would have caused all this chaos out here,well then again a lot of crazy stuff happened because I didn't respond to Violette's letter before our first trip." to which Linus perked up and pointed out when he realized that they didn't even see how the aforementioned girl was doing "That reminds me,we didn't even get to stop by Violette's place and see how she was doing. I thought that'd be a top priority on our list." which prompted Lucy to firmly retort as she put her seat back a little "This whole trip was just a roller coaster. Granted I had fun,but it was just nuts the last couple days."

"Yeah,I have to admit that I had a little fun too." Sally nodded her head and cheerfully agreed with the typically crabby girl before the plane slowly started to take off into the afternoon sky,all the while the kids decided to relax and reminisce about their trip,granted it became a very dangerous fight for their lives near the end of it,but they would all be lying if they said they didn't enjoy it.

_Home is not a place,an address you memorize._

_It's more than seven flights,or apartment 8a._

_It's where you never feel lonely whenever you're alone._

_That's how you know you are home._

_How I wish that we could feel that._

_Somehow,right now._

_How I wish that we could feel that again._

_Home is like a smile you see in a photograph._

_No matter what you do it's not supposed to change._

_Why can't we all be together the way we used to be?_

_Back on the ground,no more racing around._

_Here safe and sound,and home._

**NEXT CHAPTER: EPILOGUE**

"**Home." **Written by Frank Wildhorn and Jack Murphy.

©️Sony Music Entertainment.


	37. Chapter 37

**EPILOGUE**

_Dear Pencil Pal,_

_We have finally managed to arrive back home after our very short lived trip to France,everyone was very happy to see us again but they were also a little confused as to why we came back so early. We actually haven't told them the real reason why we're back just yet and we feel like waiting a little bit so they hopefully won't be too shocked. Honestly one of the most unexpected things that happened was that on the plane ride home,Tyrone actually told us everything about who he was,and it turns out that he was one of the cops that came to try and stop the shoot out at the salvage yard,and that he ended up leaving the police force and became a private detective after he started to feel personally responsible for Python's/Margaux's death. Honestly the most funny thing about that whole reveal was that he didn't even recognize us for so long until we told him that we were actually there,and his reaction was pretty funny,he seems like a pretty nice guy when you get past all the angst he has. I do hope he can find peace and continue to do what he does best. Ed is still in France after he decided that he wanted to stay and think the whole situation regarding Mrs Hampton and his mother over,but he also said that he would be back by Thanksgiving and Rebecca seems to be doing just fine without him. Also Snoopy and Gracie's relationship seems to be at an all time high right now,I won't be surprised if they end up having puppies any day now. __Well that seems to be all I can really say right now. See you later._

_Your friend and pencil pal,_

_Charlie Brown._

About a day after the gang had arrived back from their trip and tried to put it all behind them for the time being,a press conference was being held at the courtyard of the state's capital building,and many journalists and reporters were present and eagerly awaiting for the conference to start so they could be given an official update regarding the escaped inmates,not to mention that Tyrone was also there so he could accept his honor for bringing them in. Pretty soon the conference finally seemed to kick off as Warden Freeman stepped up to the mic and calmly stated "I'm sure you're all wondering about the escaped inmates that fled from our state's federal prison more than over a week ago,and I'm here to happily announce that the inmates have been captured and returned to their cells with even tighter security,while the very person who started the prison riot and became the leader of the inmates was killed in her attempt to resist arrest. We are all extremely glad to have our prison be returned to its normal state,however we are also deeply sorry for failing to foresee the danger,the fact that twenty one of our own prisoners were let out into the world like this for as long as they were is nothing short of irresponsible on our part,and does nothing to show why we should earn the free people's trust and respect. However even in the deepest darkness,there can still be a ray of light that can cut through it,and that ray of light is none other than the man who put a stop to this catastrophe,Tyrone Wattson."

The warden then proceeded to step away from the mic as Tyrone promptly joined him on the stage before he cleared his throat and calmly remarked "Thank you Warden for giving me the opportunity to speak here today,I honestly don't have a lot to say so I would prefer to just get on with it. In the years that I have been a detective,I have never come across a more severe and urgent job like this one,and it's honestly a miracle that I managed to successfully complete it the way I did. Now I know some of y'all are wondering,just how did I manage to single handedly perform a job like this,but that's actually not the full story,because I actually did have some help over in France when it came to my job,however I will not reveal their identities here as I feel like they wish for themselves to be left anonymous. And if you're wondering what's next for me in life,well I could go and just say something cliched like I'm going to Disneyland or something like that,but finishing that job with those people helped me open my eyes to the point where it directly influenced this decision of mine….and it's that I'm going to return to the police force. I first left it because I failed to protect the life of a girl who sadly lost her life in a gang shooting in Sparkyville,but when I was working with those people in France,it reminded me of the importance of teamwork and how I could still save the lives of my own teammates and the people around me. I can still do good in the police force and I can still protect the lives of the innocent,and I'm very happy to think that I can rejoin my mother and father on the squad. Thank you."

**_SOMETIME LATER_**

Thanksgiving day had finally come and the entire PEANUTS gang along with Tyrone was in Charlie Brown's backyard and happily celebrating the holiday, Snoopy, Woodstock, Spike, Andy, Olaf, Gracie, Roger and Herman were playing some music on a small sound stage of one of the their's (guess who), Claudia, Skylar, Lucy, Scheroder, Peppermint Patty, Franco, Marcie, Franklin, Sally, Michael, Rattler, Thibault, Cobra, Dominick, Patty Swanson, Ox, Ashlynn and James were dancing to the music, Krissy, Red, Trevor and Freddy were chatting with Tyrone while secretly playing a game of Cards Against Humanity so the younger kids wouldn't join in, Rerun and Piper were playing in the middle of a small sandbox, PigPen and Sidney were sharing a bowl of ice cream as well as were Violet and Shermy, and lastly Rebecca and Ed were happily watching the others dance while they ate some good ol home cooking with Charlie Brown and Freida,and the hermit now sported a brand new fedora and a new eyepatch for his left eye alongside a fixed up set of overalls,and he continued to happily watch the kids have all of their fun before he slowly looked up into the evening sky.

_It's good to see the sun and feel this place._

_This place I never thought would feel like home._

_And I ran forever,far away now._

_I always thought I'd end up here alone._

_Somehow the world has changed and I've come home._

_To give you back the things they took from you._

_And I feel you now._

_I'm not alone I'll always know where you are._

_When I see myself I'll always know where you are._

_Where you are._

_And I found something that was always there._

_Sometimes it's got to hurt before you feel._

_But now I'm strong and I won't kneel._

_Except to thank who's watching over me._

_Somehow I feel so strong and I've begun._

_To be the one I never thought I'd be._

_And I feel you now._

_I'm not alone I'll always know where you are._

_When I see myself I'll always know where you are._

_Where you are._

_Now it's all so clear and I believe that everything's been opened up to me._

_And I feel you now._

_I'm not alone._

_I always know._

_I always know where you are._

_When I see myself I'll always know where you are._

_When I feel the sun I'll always know where you are._

_When I see myself I'll always know where you are._

_Where you are._

**The End.**

"**Always Know Where You Are. John Rzeznik Version." **Written and performed by John Rzeznik.

©️Walt Disney Music Company.


End file.
